School Officer | Assisting Student Learning

Our Lady of the Southern Cross College, Dalby | P-12

Our Lady of the Southern Cross College (OLSCC) aspires to grow great people throughout the 13 years we formally educate our students, and the decades of connection thereafter. As a hub of our community, we take pride in developing the Learning Dispositions and Catholic Social Teachings of our students so they may excel in academia, spirituality, sport, and culture. Our OLSCC family is both welcoming and diverse, valuing the contribution that every staff member can bring to the table.  We maintain high standards and expectations to ensure that what we do, we do well. This aspiration for excellence is developing across many areas and it is an exciting time to join the OLSCC team to make a valued change for the young people and families in our care.

Position one: Shooting Stars Pre-Prep Program Assistant 

Total appointment | 6 hours per week | Term time (Monday and Wednesday 8:30am – 11:30am)

Fixed term | 6 hours per week | 15 August 2022 to 2 December 2022 

School Officer Level 2 | $28.16 - $28.84 per hour plus super

Position two: Playgroup Facilitator

Total appointment | 3 hours per week | Term time (Tuesday OR Friday, 8:30-11:30am)

Fixed term | 3 hours per week | 11 July 2022 to 2 December 2022 

School Officer Level 2 | $28.16 - $28.84 per hour plus super

The ideal candidate will demonstrate the following:

• ability to work in a vibrant community and a willingness to adapt to a variety of learning environments
• readiness to assist with aspects of preparation and delivery of effective learning and teaching programs across the key learning areas for every student

Further details can be obtained from the Role Description. 

Please submit your application via email: dalby@twb.catholic.edu.au and include

• a cover letter, of no more than two pages highlighting your demonstrated skills and experience
• your resume, to include the names of two referees (one must be your current manager)
• supporting application documents.

To discuss this role or future opportunities, please contact Principal, Peter Cuskelly by email peter.Cuskelly@twb.catholic.edu.au or by phone 07 4672 4111.

Applications close Tuesday 14 June 2022

Please note that it will be a requirement for employees working within schools to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 by the commencement of Term 1, 2022.  Employees will be required to provide proof of their vaccination status to the employer.

Employment will be in accordance with Catholic Employing Authorities Single Enterprise Collective Agreement – Diocesan Schools of Queensland 2019 – 2023.

Her Excellency, Governor of Queensland Western Downs Visit

Earlier this week, Dalby was honoured to have Her Excellency, the Governor of Queensland, Dr Jeannette Young PSM, visit our amazing region.  The Governor visited local health services, met with the local Chamber of Commerce, thanked emergency services for their efforts and also hosted a Primary Producers Showcase Dinner at the Dalby Events Centre.  This was a fine affair showcasing the people and products of the Western Downs, particularly in the menu.  Mrs Forbes and an amazing group of young ladies volunteered their time to wait tables for the evening, and to say that they did a great job would simply be an understatement. The ladies plated food, served, waited and collected, as well as filling every spare second by washing up and tidying the kitchen to support the caterers.  This is representative of what we aspire to learn through Praxis, our service learning experience at OLSCC. What a fine example this group of young ladies, Mrs Forbes included, are setting for the rest of the community.  The photos below also show The Governor giving her nod of approval as well!    

Clarification on Uniform

I received a letter from some young ladies at the College who expressed their concern regarding the lack of availability of formal short and trouser options for girls in place of wearing the formal skirt. This is a very valid point.  In the past I have explored various options with the Board and students, and the student take-up was not considerable enough for our uniform supplier to consider supplying a female short.  In conversations with our supplier, they have informed me that the shorts and trousers that are stocked in the uniform shop are unisex. Therefore, students may choose to purchase the shorts or trousers from the College Uniform shop to wear in place of the formal skirt for day to day wear.  For formal events such as College photos and 'full formal' events, it is expected that the formal skirt be worn.

Staff Changes

Today we sadly say farewell to Mrs Bourne who has been the face of the College in reception for the past 8 years, as she moves onto further challenges at Western Downs Regional Council.  Mrs Bourne has seen much growth of both the College and our students, and it has been a pleasure to work alongside such a kind and compassionate Jo for the past 5 years.  We wish Jo all the best as she transitions to council.

Additionally, we welcome Mrs Sandy Brookes to the admin team at OLSCC.  Mrs Brookes will be working mostly with students in her role, so I am sure she will quickly get to know many in our community.  Over the next few weeks, there will be other new members of admin starting at the College, and I am sure our community will be both understanding and welcoming to all of our new staff as we transition to our new ways of working in the office.

QCIS Success

This week OLSCC recorded our first QCIS win at the Cross Country event held at Downlands College on Wednesday. We had approximately 50 students compete from 10 years to Opens, and it was inspiring to see every one of our runners try their absolute best. This was considerable for the Dalby students, as the hilly countryside at Downlands used a lot of muscles that they never knew they had before!  There were some excellent individual results, though more importantly, the active participation, resilience and persistence of our students meant that OLSCC came away with both trophies for the day – Overall Points, and Average Points.  This a great achievement considering the other schools in the competition are Downlands College, Concordia Lutheran College, Scots PGC Warwick and Toowoomba Anglican School.  Well done to all the competitors, supporters and staff who braved the windy and cold conditions!

Assessment Submission

Prior to the reporting period, there is always considerable assessment items due for students, especially those in the Middle Years and Senior Years.  We understand the complexities in trying to submit multiple assessments in the same time frame and are adjusting our 2023 and beyond curriculum mapping with this in consideration.  Importantly though, staff are best preparing students for senior (QCAA) mandated conditions for assessment, which includes no leeway for late submission of assessment.  This semester we have seen an increase in Years 7-12 of students who simply do not attend examinations or submit assessments by the due date, and then expect extension or late consideration.  While we develop this understanding through the Middle Years, students in Year 9-12, as well as their parents, are encouraged to read pages 18-21 of the 2022 Student Diary.  A critical point here is that non-submission of assessment without a prearranged extension will result in the latest submission (ie. Draft) being marked as the final assessment piece. This is partly why the submission of quality drafts is a habitual practice of all successful students in Years 9-12.   

Peter Cuskelly

Principal

WELCOME

A big special welcome to Fr Salvador Fernandes mfs who will be leading the congregtion at St Joseph’s Parish until 23 June.  Fr Salvador is filling in for Fr Jim, who is on a well-earned break.  We welcome Fr Salvador not just to our parish, but also to our College community. 

Fr Salvador is also offering ‘Basics of French Language’ mini course whilst he is here. 

Learn to read, write and speak all the essentials of daily life in French. The cost is $2 for a group of 5 per hour. Contact Fr Salvador directly on 0428304318 for more information. 

REPORTING

Students have been very busy in recent weeks working on, and submitting all their necessary assessment.  Now teachers are in action drafting and marking in time to complete the student Academic Report Cards.  Lots of hard work is being done by both students and our staff.  Report Cards will be released on Parent Portal in Week 10 and a hard copy sent home with students.

HIGH EXPECTATIONS

At the College, we set high expectations of ourselves as staff and of our students.  Our ultimate goal as educators in a P-12 Catholic College is to grow great people.  We work as a staff to grow each person into a great teacher or school officer.  We work with our students along their education journey to grow them into great people who will leave our College after Year 12 ready to face the challenges and rewards of adult life.  Parents are an essential part of this journey and we work with them in partnership throughout all the years of schooling.  We set high expectations for students to engage in their learning to ensure they are taking up every opportunity in class to progress as learners and to see success.  Lately, we have been reminding students of our expectations around our focus on learning and working hard both in class and at home to do our best work, wearing our uniform correctly and the correct use of technology.  All of these things contribute to the growing of great people.  Sometimes we stumble or make mistakes and it is with resilience, persistence and a positive attitude that we are able to learn from our mistakes and do better next time.  We will continue to focus on learning as we finish off the last three weeks of the term. 

Cate Brennan

Deputy Principal Religious Education

National Reconciliation Week is a time for all Australians to learn about our shared histories, cultures, and achievements, and to explore how each of us can contribute to achieving reconciliation in Australia. It began as a Week of Prayer for Reconciliation in 1993, supported by Australia’s major religious groups. Three years later it evolved into National Reconciliation Week under the guidance of the Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation.

National Reconciliation Prayer

Creator Spirit, all creation once declared your glory, your laws were honoured and trusted.

Forgive us our neglect as our country approaches the most critical moment in its history.

Listen to our prayer as we turn to you, hear the cry of our land and its people, just as you heard the cry of Jesus, your Son, on the Cross.

Help us to replace our national shame with true pride by restoring the dignity of our First People whose antiquity is unsurpassed.

May our faith and trust in you increase, only then will our nation grow strong and be a worthy place for all who wish to make their home in our land.

Amen.

Project Compassion 

I would like to extend a heartfelt thank you to everyone who supported Project Compassion this year. In total, we raised $395.85 throughout the Lenten period.

With this money, Caritas Australia will continue to work with vulnerable communities around the world to build a better tomorrow for all future generations.

We are in the business of growing great people in a calm and respectful learning environment, and as such, we must hold students accountable for their behavioural choices. At times, this involves working more closely with some students who need their choices to be realigned to meet our standards.

Students sometimes tell me that they fear reporting negative behaviours as in their minds it will make the matter worse. Despite this not being reflected in reality, some do fear that this may occur, and it can be a paralysing feeling. Unfortunately, not reporting negative behaviours only serves to condone the behaviour itself and the students exhibiting these behaviours are sadly encouraged to continue. What is important to focus on is that the whole student body is an incredibly powerful force. If the collective group of students acted appropriately to call out their peers and their behavioural choices, it would go a long way to stamping out the low-level niggling behaviours that can fester over time. Students working together with staff can continue to make our College a safe and respectful learning environment for all.

Reporting
If your child has experienced any negative behaviours at the College, it is vital that these matters be reported to staff so that appropriate responses can be undertaken to resolve situations in a timely manner. Below are the appropriate steps in reporting behaviours:

The best practice is for your child to report incidents to the nearest staff member so that the matter can be quickly and efficiently resolved. Alternative methods can include reporting to Katrina Ballantyne (College Counsellor), Jodie Biggar (Middle Leader Middle Years) or myself.

Children and technology at home
The family home should be a safe place for children, a place where they can switch off from the outside world, leave their worries behind and a place to refresh and prepare for the next new day. At least, this once was the case. We now live in a time where technology opens the door for the outside worries to infiltrate our home. The internet, online games, and social media allow everyone we know and plenty of people we don’t into our homes. That is a scary thought.

Parents would not ordinarily allow a complete stranger to walk into the family home, sit on the couch and start talking to their child about any topic they choose. Even more, this stranger would never be permitted to enter a child’s bedroom at night. Unfortunately, this is a scenario that technology can create in the home.

This intrusion into a child’s safe space – the home – is affecting our children, and it’s a reminder that parents need to set up boundaries for technology in the home to protect their children. Technology in a child’s bedroom is simply a bad idea.

One study has found that children who use devices at bedtime sleep less, get poorer quality sleep and are more tired during the day than kids who switch off earlier.

(Click link to read more on this study: Association Between Portable Screen-Based Media Device Access or Use and Sleep Outcomes: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis | Adolescent Medicine | JAMA Pediatrics | JAMA Network)

Another study goes further to state that it is not just using the devices that interrupts sleep. Even children with a phone or a tablet device in their room, without using it at bedtime or during the night, still had poor quality sleep.

(Click link to read more on this study: A ban on screens in bedrooms may save kids’ sleep | Science News)

Furthermore, if a child is using a device in the privacy of the bedroom, there is no way of knowing who they are talking to, about what topics, or at what time of the night. Please talk to your child about technology in the home and establish clear and precise boundaries to protect them from strangers, the troubles of the world and allow them to get better rest in preparation for the next day.

Craig Cullen

Assistant Principal Middle Years

What an exciting couple of weeks it has been in the Early Years! Last week we held our second annual OLSCC Under 8’s week celebrations. Our Prep-Year 2 students were offered a smorgasboard of activities every lunch time, including footy, netball, dance, art and paper plane building. The week culminated in a wonderful festival of fun on Friday, facilitated by Praxis classes from the Senior Years. It was a terrific experience for our oldest and youngest alike, with cross sector input that builds relationships throughout the College. We are grateful to leaders in our College community who stepped up to facilitate the lunchtime activities, including the Confraternity Rugby League team, the QISSN netball team and House Leaders and members. We also took part in National Simultaneous Storytime during the week, sharing in the reading of the book “Family Tree” by Josh Pyke. The goal was to have 1 000 000 people engaging in the same book at the same time all around the nation – and we were happy to play our part from Dalby!

As this newsletter goes to print, we have every class in the Early Years competing in the Dalby Eisteddfod. As you can imagine, this is no easy feat! Months of planning, song selection, practice, costume decisions, more practice, communication with parents and finally, the day has arrived! We are grateful to our Music teacher Mrs Jackie Sullivan for her enthusiasm and skill to pull this together, and to Mrs Libby Baxter for accompanying our classes on piano for performance day. The fun continues next week, as we welcome the Streetscience team to the College. They will be presenting their signature science shows to a variety of classes across the day on Monday.

Within the classroom, students have been busily focusing on learning. Teachers have been facilitating classroom assessment to give feedback to the students and set goals for the next steps in learning. They are currently gathering data to provide information via report cards that will come out at the end of this semester. These reports are a point in time guide to give an indication of how a student is travelling in the classroom as they seek to meet achievement standards in a range of subjects. The report also seeks to keep parents informed on how the student’s attitude and application to learning are going, particularly with reference to the College learning dispositions.

Each fortnight at Early Years assembly, we reflect on the learning dispositions and highlight one in particular to focus on. This fortnight, we are focusing on being persistent, and sticking at things even when it gets challenging. We have identified tools to help us embrace those challenges as we work our way out of the Learning Pit to achieve success. Take some time to ask your child how persistent they have been this week!

Katrina Walton

Assistant Principal Early Years

Eisteddfod

I want to say a huge congratulations to everyone who has competed in Dalby Choral and Vocal Eisteddfod over the past few days. We started it off with a bang on Wednesday with our Middle Years Choir. We followed up with Early Years Choir who smashed it! This morning we finished off with the Early Years classes who all did such a great job! Additionally, we’ve had lots of Performing Arts students doing performances over the last few days and we are so proud of them!

Results:

Middle Years Choir – 1^st place

Early Years Choir – 3^rd Place

Prep Red – 2^nd Place

Prep Blue – 3^rd Place

1D – 1^st place

1B and 2P – Equal 2^nd Place

2J – 3^rd Place

3C and 4HT – Equal 2^nd Place

3B – 3^rd Place

4B – Highly Commended

Enchanted Evening

We’re very excited that 'Enchanted Evening' is underway. This week we had our first official rehearsal and did a table read of our script. It was so great to see the students taking on their characters! If you have been thinking about joining Enchanted Evening as a chorus member or backstage this is your last opportunity, don’t miss out!

At rehearsals this week a commitment letter was handed to all students, it’s important that this is returned to the office before next Thursday 9 June.

If you have any questions, please don’t’ hesitate to contact Miss Creeley!

Tamara Creeley

Middle Leader Culture

Darling Downs Rugby League Competition Results

Week 6

Under 18

OLSCC defeated St Joseph’s College 20-6

Week 8 Wednesday 8 June

Under 13 OLSCC vs St Mary’s College 4pm Brothers Toowoomba

Under 15 OLSCC vs St Mary’s College 5pm Brothers Toowoomba

Under 18 – No Game

Week 9 Wednesday 15 June

Under 13 and Under 15 Quarter Finals TBC

Under 18 Semi Final – OLSCC vs TBC in Dalby at 6pm

Darling Downs Cross Country

Congratulations to all students who competed at the Darling Downs Cross Country Trials. Gemma Sullivan was selected in the Darling Downs Team for the State Championships next term. Race results are listed below.

Under 10 Boys

Ben Barwick 36^th

Under 10 Girls

Isabelle Manley 26^th, Lexie Forbes 34^th

Under 11 Boys

Khoen Darr 30^th, Will Hemmings 34^th

Under 11 Girls

Gemma Sullivan 5^th, Mackenzie Meacle Lyell 35^th

Under 12 Boys

Josh Barwick 9^th, Will Barwick 12^th

Under 12 Girls

Molly Gibson 19^th

Under 13 Boys

Lachlan Fraser 13^th

Under 14 Girls

Monique Smith 34^th

Under 14 Boys

Jack Gibson 16^th

Under 15 Girls

Taylor Marshall 11^th

Athletics Carnival

The Under 12 – Open Athletics Carnival will be held on Monday 6 and Tuesday 7 June. The timetable for the two days is attached to the newsletter.

Volleyball

Congratulations to the Year 9 Girls and Year 8/9 Girls Volleyball Teams who competed at the QLD Intermediate Schools Cup Competition over the weekend in Toowoomba. The Year 9 Girls finished 7^th in the Honours Division with 3 wins and 3 losses. The Year 8/9 Girls team finished 10^th in the Year 9 Division 2 Competition. Thanks to Mrs Lincoln and Mrs Sullivan for their efforts in coaching the girls.

 

Bunya District Girls League

Any Girls Born in 2011 or 2010 who would like to attend Bunya District and Darling Rugby League Trials need to see Mr or Mrs Lincoln for more information.

Vicki Wilson Cup Netball

The College will compete in the Junior and Senior Vicki Wilson Cup Competitions being held in Toowoomba next Friday ,10 June.

Girls Rugby Sevens

The College will participate in a newly formed Rugby Sevens Competition being held on Friday afternoons next term. Age groups will be Under 13, Under 15 and Under 18. Any girls interested in playing need to register their interest to either Mr Gillespie, Mr Garside or Mr Lincoln. Schools involved will be Glennie, Fairholme, Downlands, Scots Warwick and Toowoomba Anglican School.

State Squash Titles

Four OLSSC students represented Darling Downs at the State School Squash titles in Cairns this week. They were Lucy and Emma Cusack, Max Brownhall and Rory McUtchen.

Tim Lincoln

Middle Leader Sport

Congratulations to Toby Harms who recently completed his Certificate III in Ag Traineeship. It is always very exciting to see one of our students finish their course and it is very very exciting when that student transitions into their apprenticeship pathway. Toby has commenced his Carpentry apprenticeship with GJ Gardner and Chris Henry. We are all proud of Toby and look forward to seeing him progress with his career.

Libby Baxter

Careers Development Practitioner

Restorative Conversations

At Our Lady of the Southern Cross, we are starting to implement restorative conversations across the school. Restorative conversations is an evidence-based practise that is used in many schools to manage and resolve conflicts as they occur. The process supports students to see a situation from another’s perspective. They are encouraged to reflect on their behaviour that contributed to the situation. All students reflect upon the impact that their behaviour may have had on themselves and the people around them. Together a solution is agreed upon with a possible review in the future.

Currently these conversations have been supported either by myself and/or an Assistant Principal. It is emphasised to students that nobody is in trouble and in these conversations, students are congratulated for owning their behaviour or mistakes. As parents, I hope that you can see the power that these conversations can have for students. Restorative conversations will support the development of empathy, accountability and problem solving.

Please find below the links to videos that are introducing restorative conversations and an example of a restorative conversation within a school setting.

Introduction to restorative practices.

Example of restorative conversation

Katrina Ballantyne

College Counsellor

On Friday 17 June will be having 'Nacho Day' for Tuckshop. This will be a PER ORDER ONLY item and our Tuckshop menu will be limited to snacks and drinks. All orders for Nacho Day will need to be made by cut off at 8:30am, Thursday 16 June as items have to be ordered from our supplier. We hope to see everyone support our Nacho Day!

We are in the process of making changes to our Menu and want to include Gluten Free options . Please feel free to share menu ideas or items your child may like to order or tried and tested recipes that you think would be a great alternative on the menu for our gluten free staff and students.

Flexischools will be opened up for parents to place orders next Monday and Tuesday for the Sports Carnival. Menu items will be limited to sausage rolls, pies and pizzas (meatlovers, ham and pineapple and BBQ chicken). You will also be able to come to the tuckshop and purchase tea, coffe, drinks, chips, cake and slice via EFTPOS only. We look forward to parents supporting the tuckshop over the two days of the Athletics Carnival.

Lastly Thank you to the new volunteers that have reached out and offered their time. The Tuckshop needs volunteer support to help with the daily orders and baking. If you already volunteer in classrooms and you have a few free minutes spare either side, please pop in, as many hands make light work.  I don’t need you to commit to every week, just a day a month or term from each parent will be a huge help. Reach out and I can let you know the days that we still have available this term. At the end of this term we will send out a roster for the term so we can all work together on suppling our school the very best food.

Until next time,

Kim

Delicious and Delightful Lantern Festival – Sign up to order a lantern now!

On Saturday 27 August, the Dalby Welcoming Community is hosting the annual Lantern Parade as part of Dalby's Delicious and Delightful Festival. This year, the welcoming committee plans to feature the lanterns at the festival much more than previously, having them in Anderson Park for people to admire during the day. At night, this will enable everyone to more easily access their lanterns for the actual parade.

Details include:

• Cost - $7 per lantern. This will be invoiced to your College account
• Must be pre-ordered by Wednesday 22 June for any student wishing to participate
• No late orders can be accepted
• Lanterns will be decorated at school
• Register to order a lantern via this link: Delicious and Delightful Lantern Order
• Please complete a separate order form for each student

We have a long history of participation in this local event and would love to once again see strong representation of Our Lady of the Southern Cross College. We look forward to building on this community festival as we celebrate the rich diversity of cultures across the College.

RUBY (Rise Up, Be Yourself) is a free physical fitness program for women who are, have been, or likely to be experiencing Domestic and Family Violence (DFV).

Held weekly at a number of PCYCs across Queensland, RUBY is designed to empower women by building physical strength and contributing to general well-being, emotional resilience, self-esteem and confidence through physical exercise in a violence free and safe environment. The unique program gives participants a different outlet and tools to combat the DFV cycle by fostering connected relationships with other women in a safe, group environment. Sessions are facilitated by a qualified, female PT and a female member of the QPS attends and participates.

RUBY can be a conduit for the needs of the women, and help to create a culture of change and facilitate them to a place of survivorship. It can link participants into existing local services for support, information, referrals and resources and the partnership with the QPS ensures that positive relationships are formed with participants, and direct support is provided.

Representatives from the College’s Senior Years and Middle Years attended the RUBY Fundraiser Breakfast that was hosted by the Dalby PCYC. The breakfast raised desperately need funds for the Dalby RUBY Program and to raise awareness about concerns surrounding family and domestic violence in our community. For more information regarding the Dalby RUBY Program, please contact the PCYC on 4672 2400.

This group has been meeting regularly on a Wednesday afternoon and have been building our skills to create and communicate responses to challenges in a number of different ways. Our end goal is to participate in the Optiminds Challenge in Term 3. This year, the College will enter two teams, and I thank Miss Jacinta Willocks and Miss Emily Blair for stepping up to manage a team for Optiminds next term.

Thank you for your support of our recent Book Fair! From the sales, we were able to claim $1643 in commission. This will help us purchase an exciting array of books for our reading for pleasure collection.

Many thanks,

The Library Staff