Sunday 11 - Friday 16 Sept - Year 6 Outback Tour

Tuesday 13 to Friday 16 - Year 9 Camp Noosa

Thursday 15 September - Year 2 Invention Convention

Friday 16 September - Term 3 concludes

by Sarah Lilburne

Today we learned the very sad news of the passing of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, our Queen. Some say that it felt like she would live forever but sadly, the day has come when she is no longer our monarch. Rather than mourning, I feel we can celebrate her amazing life and remember her as a dignified, gracious and dedicated Queen. She reigned over the Commonwealth for 70 years and she touched the hearts of many all around the world. For so many of us, she was the only monarch we have known, and her remarkable life should be remembered and rejoiced. 

I remember seeing the Queen on two occasions, once at South Bank in Brisbane in 2002 but the most memorable time was at Bourke in New South Wales in 2000. This visit took place shortly after the referendum when Australians voted either for or against the monarchy. I lived close to the small rural town of Coolibah in Western New South Wales which had a population of only 39 people. Of those people, 38 voted for the monarchy and Coolibah was recognised as the town in Australia with the highest percentage of voters per head of the population supporting the Queen to remain as our Head of State. It was quite an honour for Coolibah and all the residents marked the occasion by lining up out the front of the local pub for a picture, minus the one person who didn't vote in her favour. When the Queen and His Royal Highness, The Duke of Edinburgh visited Bourke, not far up the Mitchell Highway from Coolibah, the residents were invited to gather in a special area to greet her on their walk through tour of Central Park. Even though I wasn't one of those voters from Coolibah as my post office was in the next small town of Girilambone, I travelled up to Bourke in the chartered coach and stood in the specially cordoned off area with the folks from Coolibah. They presented Her Majesty with a bouquet of roses and the framed photo of them all standing in front of the pub. I smile to think that she might have put that photo on her mantle piece, or perhaps not, but her graciousness towards those everyday Australians made me realise what an incredibly important person she was to so many in unexplainable ways. On that day, her beautiful outfit was so well tailored and her hat matched perfectly, her radiant smile warmed the hearts of everyone there especially the people from Coolibah.

Our lives will be forever different as His Majesty King Charles III takes over the throne as the Commonwealth Head of State and our new monarch. Whatever changes are coming, we can remember that our lives have been enriched by the reign of Queen Elizabeth II who lead with style and commitment, never outwardly showing the difficult times she faced both personally and in world affairs and we can all learn from that. Her life was dignified to the very end. May she rest in peace.

Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and His Royal Highness The Duke of Edunburgh in Bourke 2002

What a huge end to the term we are having!  We had a wonderful Week 8 filled with prayer and reflection with the opening of our new facilities and the celebration of Our Lady of the Southern Cross Day. Week 9, we hosted student-led conferences in the Early and Middle Years and tonight we look forward to be enchanted at ‘Enchanted Evening’.  Week 10 will see Year 6 and Year 9 head to camp and of course students are busily completing assessment to demonstrate their learning, which leads to busy staff marking these assessments.

DATE CLAIMERS FOR TERM 4

14 October Grandparents Day 9:00am-12:00pm Prep – Year 6

14 October Under 13-Open Swimming Carnival

16 November College Awards Ceremony 9:15am MPC

18 November Year 12 Graduation Mass 10:00am St Joseph’s

25 November OLSCC Christmas Carols 6:00pm-8:00pm

28 November Colour Run

REGULAR EVENTS

Whole College Assemblies –in MPC – Week 1, 3, 5, 7, 9 (Odd Weeks) at 8:50am

Early Years Assemblies –in PAC – Week 2, 4, 6, 8, 10 (Even Weeks) at 8:50am

Middle Years Assemblies –in Middle Years Plaza – Week 2, 4, 6, 8, 10 (Even Weeks) at 8:50am

Senior Year Assemblies throughout the week (timetable dependant) Notification through the newsletter.

Families are welcome to join us for all assemblies. 

STUDENT LEADERSHIP 2023

Congratulations to the 14 young men and women who presented themselves for leadership positions for 2023.  In 2022, for the first, time we announced our 2023 College leaders on Our Lady of the Southern Cross Day.  These Prep – Year 12 leaders will be leaders elect until the end of this term working alongside the 2022 leaders.  In Term 4 they will take responsibility for these roles.  The Prep- Year 12 Leader positions for 2023 are College Prefects including our College Captains and our House Leaders. 

As a College we have a rigorous application process for our Prep – Year 12 Whole College Leadership positions.  It is a four-step process.  Students must apply in writing stating the characteristics they possess to achieve such a role.  They also present a short speech to the student body, who have a vote to show their support to candidates.  Lastly, they take part in an interview with members of the College Staff leadership Group.  Through this process the successful candidates are appointed by our Principal, Peter Cuskelly. 

House Leaders 2023:

Our Prefects for 2023 are:

College Captains 2023:

CLASS ALLOCATIONS FOR 2023

Our Lady of the Southern Cross College has a procedure in place for allocating students into classes each year.  Classroom teachers and the leadership team work together to determine class placements based on social, emotional and academic needs of students to ensure classes are balanced and will provide optimal learning and teaching for all.  

PROCESS

The College Leadership Team establish class structures for the following year based upon anticipated enrolments, class lists are then formed from the full lists of students in each year level.

Factors staff take into consideration when allocating students to classes include the following:

• projected number of students in each year level and past trends
• gender ratio
• spread of students with respect to academic performance, social development and classroom behaviour
• the best educational needs of the student
• special circumstances such as twins or individual family members
• classroom observations

It is acknowledged by all, that friendships are important. However, to ensure balanced classes as outlined above, friendship groups are not a primary determining factor in class allocation.

What is the process for placing students into classes?

Based on the criteria listed above, teaching staff and the College Leadership Team begin the process towards the end of Term 3.  At this time, they observe current class situations and review with the future year in mind.  Staff meet in Week 1 of Term 4 to establish class lists for the following school year. Teachers of the current year level meet with colleagues to create the class lists (i.e. Year 2 teachers decide Year 3 allocations etc.) for the following school year.  Family history and connection to teachers through siblings is not a deciding factor for class allocation as teachers are allocated to class lists once they are formed not before. 

Proposed class lists are submitted for consideration to other stakeholders within the College including the Student Services team.  Throughout this consideration present teachers are consulted and discussions are led by Assistant Principals of each sector about the combinations of students in classes. 

Draft lists are finalised and submitted to the Principal and College Leadership Team for final approval.

PARENT REQUESTS

Parents and carers may provide the College with specific information about their child’s learning or social needs that they believe the College  may not be aware of. Such information would not include a request for a particular teacher. The information should be provided in writing by completing the Class Consideration Form to the Principal during the consultation phase in Week 2, Term 4.

This information will be referenced, along with other available information, during the class allocation process. Please see the below information.

• Parents are able to make a class allocation request based on educational needs
• Parents need to submit the Class Consideration Form outlining their reasons, by the set date.
• All written parent requests that arrive by the due date will be considered based on educational merits and in relation to the class structure process outlined above. Any late submissions will not be considered.
• The College cannot guarantee that parent requests will be met.

RELEASING CLASS LISTS TO STUDENTS AND PARENTS

Class allocations for the year ahead will be communicated to the students in advance of ‘Up Day’ each year.  Class lists are final on publication to students and parents. ‘Up Day’ is the day where all students enrolled for the following year spend time in their future classes.  This orientation and experience day is held in the final week of Term 4.

This practice means that:

• Students will experience a day in their future class, with future teacher/s;
• Students begin to build relationships with their teacher/s for following year;
• Students will know which other students will be in their class; and
• Parents and carers will have time to talk positively to their children about the class experiences they may have the following year.

PARENT AND CARER COMMITMENT

Parents and carers commit to supporting the College's Class Allocation Procedure by:

• Supporting and accepting decisions made by the College; and
• Being positive with their child about the class allocation decision that has been made.

COLLEGE COMMITMENT

The College commits to supporting the Class Allocation Procedure by:

• Using informed professional judgement when deciding class allocations; and
• Considering all available information, including that received from parents and carers, to assist the process.

This procedure and FAQ about class allocation can be found on our College website:

https://www.dalby.catholic.edu.au/classallocation

Cate Brennan

Deputy Principal Religious Education

As assessment continues and our Senior students take part in Mock exams, it is important to continue to work with students.

These are some ideas that may help support you and your student: 

1. KNOW YOUR MATERIAL

The more confident you are about the topic(s) in your test, the less stress you will feel come exam time. Make sure you stay on top of your school work and homework throughout the term. Follow up with your teacher, or another subject matter expert, if there are things you don’t understand, well before the exams. Trying to understand new concepts the night before a test is very stressful. Y

2. PRACTISE Make sure you do practise papers if they are available, or practise questions. This might include multiple choice, short answer or essay style questions. Always study in the way you will be tested. Work out a plan of action so you know how long you are going to allocate to each question type, what question types you will start with and what you will do if you come across things you aren’t sure about. Learn more in the Active Studying unit.
3. FUEL YOUR BODY AND YOUR MIND In the days leading up to an exam make sure you get enough sleep. Being tired makes it harder to concentrate and remember. Fuel your body and mind by eating well and drinking plenty of water. Learn more about this in the Lifestyle and Balance unit.
4. MANAGE THE PHYSICAL SIGNS OF STRESS Familiarise yourself with how your body feels when you are stressed. Do you get headaches? Tension in your neck or shoulders? Does your heart race faster? What happens to your breathing? Whenever you feel these effects, quickly start some relaxation exercises. A good one to try during an exam is to breathe in deeply for 4 seconds, hold for 7 seconds and breathe out for 8 seconds. Do this a few times to calm yourself down and allow yourself to refocus. Learn more about this in the Managing Stress unit.
5. BE PREPARED ON THE DAY Make sure you have packed or prepared everything you need for the test the night before. Have a plan for how you are going to get to school on time - including a back-up plan if necessary. Eat a nutritious breakfast and make sure you are hydrated. Learn more about this in the Test-Taking Techniques unit.
6. VISUALISE Use visualisation techniques to help reduce your stress on the day. Every day in the weeks prior to the exam, last thing at night and first thing in the morning, visualise yourself calmly walking into the exam room, preparing your equipment, reviewing and completing your exam paper and feeling good about how you did. Learn more about this in the Managing Stress unit.
7. INVOLVE YOUR PARENTS IN YOUR SCHOOLWORK Throughout the term talk to your parents about what you are studying. Show them your bookwork and homework. The more your parents understand about what you are doing and how you are going along the way, the better they are able to manage their expectations. They may also be able to help you study by testing you on what you are learning.
8. TALK TO YOUR PARENTS ABOUT REALISTIC GOALS Keep talking to your parents about what you want to achieve, in individual subjects, at school overall and in other aspects of your life. Focus more on the learning and developing skills instead of just marks. Involve them in helping you to identify where to concentrate the most effort to achieve your goals. Learn more about this in the Goal Setting unit.
9. UNDERSTAND EXPECTATIONS Many students feel like they are not meeting their parents’ expectations. Often this is a result of poor communication about expectations by both parties. Assessment and reporting systems also change over time and are different in different schools and systems. Making sure your parents really understand what your report means may help them to understand what you are actually achieving. Your school can assist you to explain these to your parents if need be and most schools provide booklets of explanation. Often students are achieving, but reporting structures may not clearly represent this to parents.
10. ASK FOR HELP The most important way to deal with stress is by talking to people and asking for help. Don’t try and go it alone. Your school, teachers, parents and friends are your support structure so keep lines of communication open (that means talk to them!) and let everyone know how you are feeling and what help you need.

Rodney Spain

Assistant Principal Senior Years

Week 9 saw us celebrating and acknowledging RU OK? Day and Day for Daniel – in relation to Daniel Morcombe and Child Protection Education. Both days focus on checking in with each other and giving students the confidence to speak up about keeping their own and each other’s safety. God desires that our educators and students are safe at our schools. So, let us continue to pray for the protection of our educators and students at the schools in our communities. 

Wonderful Father, we thank You for Your love and presence at Our Lady of the Southern Cross College. We thank You, Lord, for the safe protection for every educator and student at Our Lady of the Southern Cross College. Thank You for blessing our community with Your peace. We declare that our educators and students will have peace and safety at school and that their homes will be places of rest and relaxation.  Let Your Spirit of love permeate our school and community. Holy Spirit, unify our community and help us to stand against fear, intimidation, violence and bullying. We ask this prayer in Your name. Amen 

Athletics

Darling Downs Primary Carnival Results

Ben Barwick

9^th in the Multi Event

Emily Bundy

12^th in the 200m

Talon Burton

4^th in High Jump

Mason Francis

16^th in the 200m

Lainey Geiger

4^th in Discus

Mason Geisel

2^nd in Long Jump, 7^th in Shot Put

Molly Gibson

7^th in the Multi Event

Isabelle Manley

2^nd 200m, 2^nd Multi Event, 3^rd Long Jump, 4^th High Jump, 8^th 800m

Pippa Smith

16^th in the 80m

Archie Stephens

2^nd 100m ,5^th in Multi Event, 5^th Long Jump, 5^th 200m

Charles Sullivan

2^nd Long Jump, 3^rd 80m, 3^rd 200m

Gemma Sullivan

3^rd 800m, 4^th 1500m

Mason, Isabelle, Archie and Gemma were selected in the Darling Downs Team to attend the State Athletics Championships in October.

Darling Downs Secondary Athletics Carnival Results

Lachlan Jacobson

4^th Shot Put, 5^th Discus, 5^th Javelin

Carla Nobbs

2^nd High Jump, 7^th Long Jump, 7^th Discus, 11^th 400m

Kelii Leahy

1^st Long Jump, 1^st Triple Jump

Carla and Kelii were selected in the Darling Downs Team to attend the State Championships in October.

OLSCC Inter House Athletics Carnival

Overall Points

Rice                  2433

McAuley            2086

Nolan                2037

MacKillop          1948          

Primary House Relay

1^st Rice, 2^nd MacKillop, 3^rd Nolan, 4^th McAuley

Secondary House Relay

1^st Nolan, 2^nd McAuley, 3^rd Rice, 4^th MacKillop

Primary Captains / Staff Relay

1^st Rice, 2^nd McAuley, 3^rd Nolan, 4^th MacKillop

Secondary Captains / Staff Relay

1^st Nolan, 2^nd McAuley, 3^rd Rice, 4^th MacKillop

All Age Relay

1^st Nolan, 2^nd McAuley, 3^rd Rice, 4^th MacKillop

Tresillian Gift

1^st Laney Werth, 2^nd Emmysen Crothers, 3^rd Isabelle Manley

Gillespie Gift

1^st Kai Rush, 2^nd Bailey Skinner, 3^rd Jack Hall

DD Triathlon

Any students wishing to be a part of the Darling Downs Triathlon Team for 2023 need to see Mr Lincoln for more information. Students must be born between 2004-2009.

Inner Downs Cricket Trials

Any boys born 2007-2009 who wish to attend Inner Downs Cricket Trials please see Mr Lincoln for more information. Trials will be held at Highfields on Friday 16 October.

Volleyball

A successful Year 5/6 Outdoor Volleyball Competition was held on Thursday. Congratulations to the following teams who were successful on the day. Thanks to Mrs Lincoln, the Year 5/6 Teachers and the Year 9/10 Volleyball Class who ran the tournament.

Boys

Winners

Bulldogs – Louie Machin, Innes Dellit, Lane Zeller, Gus Paffey, Charlie Morris

Coach – Chloe Wilkins

Runners Up

Roosters – Toby Hancock, Aaron Cleary, Cyjhan Cabella, Joaquin Mendez, Alfie Brown

Coaches – Charli Coleman and Gaetano Ericco Dimaunahan

Girls

Winners

Rabbitohs – Sophie Taylor, Lucy Reed, Lexie Bruce, Gemma Sullivan, Indi Wilson, Chloe Richards, Olivia Heisler

Coach – Chloe Manteit

Runners Up

Cowboys – Isabelle Manley, Georgia Chiverton, Milla Barnett, Lainey Geiger, Lexie Forbes, Mia Johnston

Coach – Bella Buckley  

SW Rugby Sevens Competition

Term 4 Weeks 2-6

Under 13 Boys, Under 13 Girls and Under 18 Girls - Mondays at Highfields Sports Precinct

Under 15 Girls – Thursdays at Highfields Sports Precinct

More information will be available early next term.  

Primary Touch Football

The College has nominated a Boys and a Mixed Team in the SWQ Swans Primary All Schools Touch Football Carnival in Dalby on Sunday 16 October. The Mixed team will also attend the QLD Primary All Schools Carnival at Cleveland on 5-6 November. More information about both carnivals will be passed on early next term.

QLD Secondary All Schools Touch Football

Version 5 of the QLD Secondary All Schools Touch Football Draw has been passed onto our Under 15 and Under 18 Teams. At this point, the draw has been kind to the College, with the Under 15 Teams having games only on Thursday 6 October and Friday 7 October (no Wednesday games). The Under 18 Mixed Team has games on Friday 7 October and Saturday 8 October. Any major changes over the holidays will be emailed out to families and be available from the QLD All Schools Website.

Tim Lincoln

Middle Leader Sport

I would like to remind parents of students who completed a school based traineeship or apprecticeship that they should have received an email from Karen White of Toowoomba Catholic Schools regarding the employer thank you lunch. Parents are asked to check their inbox and RSVP for the lunch. Students should also prompt their employer to RSVP. The lunch will be held at the Dalby Leagues Club on Thursday 20 October. 

Year 12 students should be contacting me to book their pathways meeting for post Year 12. Also, if students have not completed their QTAC, they need to see me by the end of next week. 

One of our 2017 graduates, Claire Sutton has been in to visit the College as she is about to embark on an exciting new opportunity in the United States studying at the New York Conservatory for Dramatic Arts. Claire was the last student at the College to complete the Music Extension subject in 2017 and played the lead role in our 2017 musical 'Rock of Ages'. Claire's talent for singing was realised at a very young age and her artistic talents are about help her achieve her dreams. Claire has already completed three years of musical theatre training in Brisbane and is eager to continue expanding her skill set under the instruction of many successful Broadway actors. 

"It just goes to show that you just have to back yourself and put yourself out there. That's the only way to grow and I'm so grateful that I did it."

We wish Claire all the very best as she embarks on her new journey overseas and hope to see her on the international stages very soon.

Libby Baxter

Careers Development Practitioner

Today the whole College celebrated Day for Daniel. We all wore red and celebrated staying safe at school. Senior Constable Dan O’Hara spoke at the Whole College Assembly about protective behaviours that students can do if they were feeling unsafe.

During Term 3, students have been learning about protective behaviours through the Daniel Morcombe Child Safety Curriculum. Child safety resources and activities can be accessed on the Daniel Morcombe Foundation website The Daniel Morcombe Foundation | Home. Student’s and families need to be aware that protective behaviours may be displayed physically or online. For online safety resources, families can access the esafety commissioner at Online safety | eSafety Commissioner

Katrina Ballantyne

College Counsellor

The Saints Race Day is coming up next weekend and organisers have been putting in the hard yards to make it a fantastic day. Tickets for the multi-draw raffle will be going home to the oldest in the family next week. Tickets will be $5 each or 5 tickets for $20. The committee is also putting out a call for anyone that can come down to Bunya Park on the Sunday after the races to help clean up. All hands would be appreciated. Please see the below flyers for all the details on the races and a list of all the generous sponsors who have helped to make it happen.