Thursday 10 November - Year 11 Study Skills

Wednesday 16 November - College Awards Assembly

Thursday 17 November - Brisbane Broncos Visit

Friday 18 November - Year 12 Graduation Mass and Valedictory Dinner

Friday 25 November - Year 10 and 11 academic year concludes

Friday 25 November - OLSCC Christmas Carols

Year 12 Last Day 

This morning at Assembly our amazing Year 12 students (dressed as teachers…) were presented to the rest of our students and staff for their last day of Year 12 before the External Assessments begin with English on Monday.  It was great to see the students having a laugh and some fun with, and sometimes at the expense of, the staff of OLSCC.  This is a great bunch of students.  They are now entering a very intense time of study and preparation, especially for our ATAR students, and we wish them all the best over the next 17 days of exams.  Of course, we look forward to seeing them all together again at the College Awards Ceremony, then Graduation and Valedictory.  We have 2 new students, Rodney (Mr Spain) and Catherine (Mrs Brennan), running their final retreat today, though I’m not quite sure they read the uniform policy correctly before they began!

Exciting News! 

Today we are announcing that we are expanding to 3 Prep classes for the 2023 school year! We continue to have full cohorts in the early years and by increasing our classes, we can welcome more people into our community. Whilst we still have many full, or near full, classes across the College, this first step in expansion for our community means we can continue to have high quality education in reasonably sized classes across all year levels. Communication of the extra class will be going out to Kindy programs across Dalby next week.  If you know of anyone within our community, or newcomers to town, who wish to start their Journey in Faith and Knowledge at OLSCC, please encourage them to contact the College!

Yesterday I had the privilege of welcoming 21 Year 12 students, as well as their parents, employers and trainers, to the OLSCC SBAT Lunch at the Dalby Leagues Club.  We continue to excel in providing School Based Apprenticeship and Traineeship opportunities for our students through the amazing industry partners in and around Dalby.  In fact, so much so, that we again had the most Year 12 Students in the Diocese with this opportunity.  Yesterday we hosted future hairdressers, mechanics, builders, administrators, early childhood educators, farmers, retailers, and many more.  A huge thanks to Karen Coulston and Karen White from TCS for their support in this area, as well as Mrs Libby Baxter and Mrs Tracey Boland who manage the careers program at OLSCC.  Well done to all! If you are reading this and think your child would benefit from engaging in industry throughout Years 10, 11 and 12, please contact the office and we can start the discussion.

Organising for 2023

We are steadily filling our teacher roster for 2023 and look forward to announcing new staff to the College in coming weeks.  Whilst there is a distinct teacher shortage across Australia at present, our recruitment approach and reputation are placing us in good stead as we continue to interview high quality teaching staff.  Over the next few weeks, we are finalising class lists, subject selection and timetables and look forward to announcing and sharing these with our community when ready.  For parents of students entering Year 7, 8, 9 and 11 in 2023, please keep a close eye on your email, and continue to engage with the newsletter so that important information is not missed.

Thank you!

We have such a special place at OLSCC.  The culture of our staff and students is envied by all our guests and visitors to the College. Classrooms are positive and conducive to learning, students and staff are welcoming, teachers are engaged in teaching and students are engaged in learning, our facilities are great, and our feel is open and caring. In addition to this, our academic results prove that students in all year levels can achieve to the highest standard possible through the culture we provide here at OLSCC.  This is not the work of one particular group, but rather, the entire community at OLSCC.  Thank you to everyone that contributes positively to our College through attitude, aptitude, engagement, support and just being a part of the greater OLSCC community.  

Peter Cuskelly 

Principal

This week the Year 12s experience their final days of lessons and the usual running of life at OLSCC. A lot of their year will have been spent with mixed feelings of stress, happiness and despair. Now they face their final days of study and exams.  

Let us pray for our Year 12s as they finish their lessons and begin exams and their journey to graduation. 

God, we ask that our students feel your closeness during the exam period.  

Give them calm hearts and quiet confidence in the knowledge that you hold them in the palm of your hand.  

Bless them with keen understanding and retentive memory.  

Give them the ability to grasp things correctly, be exact in their explanations and an ability to express themselves clearly.  

Point out clearly the beginning, direct their progress and help them in the completion of each of their responses.  

Holy Spirit, send them your gifts of wisdom and knowledge. 

We ask this through Christ Our Lord. Amen. 

Social behaviours

At the College, we promote a range of pro-social behaviours that are designed to help improve the well-being of others. These include calling for volunteers, encouraging students to be upstanders, organising buddies for new students, and praising those who assist others. It is wonderful to now see students showing initiative to freely volunteer their own time to help out when they see a need, like in the canteen. Growing great people has always been our priority.  

An important part of promoting pro-social behaviour is empowering our students to help prevent the anti-social behaviours they may witness. In responding to negative behaviours and relationship deterioration, we engage in restorative practices building mindsets that focus on supporting students as they accept accountability for their actions, reflect on the impact they have on others, and take steps to repair relationships and build new pro-social skillsets.   

Restorative practices can take on a number of forms, however, all aim to repair harm and restore relationships through conflict resolution and by holding individuals and groups accountable. 

Restorative conversations have been widely implemented in the Middle Years. They allow the facilitator to demonstrate empathy, teach children how to resolve conflict, and most importantly allow for students to have voice and be heard. It is important that all parties have an opportunity to express their feelings about why the relationship experienced a breakdown, while still setting and re-establishing high expectations moving forward.

Increasingly, the majority of negative behaviours reported originate in the digital, online  space outside of school hours. The College has very firm measures in place to mitigate the risks associated with our students gaining access to inappropriate content and social media platforms while at school. It is vital that families also monitor the online behaviours at home and outside of school hours on personal devices to ensure children remain safe whilst online.

Statistically, adolescent children with social media accounts are more likely to experience self-esteem issues, anxiety, and suffer from depression. Teenage self-esteem issues, if left unchecked or unaddressed, also have the potential to develop into life-threatening problems, such as, drug/alcohol abuse, unsafe sexual behaviours, self-harm, bullying, and eating disorders. Whilst the College does utilise Facebook and Instagram as part of the communication package for families, the use of these platforms is solely to enhance parent engagement in College events. We recommend that students, especially in the Middle Years, do not engage in social media as a way of safeguarding them from potential risk.

The emotional development of Middle Years students is complex and will continue well into their adulthood. Our students are still learning to identify their emotions, to understand why they happen, and how to manage them appropriately. Social media can be harmful to young people because it encourages constant comparison, limits in-person communication, and ironically can lead to feelings of deep loneliness, despite children thinking they are ‘more connected’ with access to social media platforms.

If you need some resources regarding common social media platforms and the potential risks associated with each, please peruse the resources at  https://www.carlyryanfoundation.com/resources/fact-sheets.

Craig Cullen

Assistant Principal Middle Years

Uniform expectations

We are very excited to announce that due to increasing enrolment growth, we will be running an additional Prep class in 2023. This means that there are limited places now available, with enrolment applications for remaining places closing on 1 November. Please encourage anyone you know who has been considering applying to do so now via the College website – enrolment tab Our Lady of the Southern Cross College (dalby.catholic.edu.au).

Congratulations to the majority of our students who wear their uniform in excellent condition and with such pride. As we prepare to welcome our new and enlarged Prep cohort in 2023, it is timely to reflect on some of our College uniform expectations. As many families are already preparing for 2023, this will hopefully give you ample notice of what items accurately meet the uniform guidelines. Today we will focus on acceptable shoe choices.

Formal Uniform Yrs 1-4: Black LEATHER or LEATHER LOOK joggers or LEATHER lace up dress shoes (including ‘Mary-Jane’ style shoes for girls). Currently, some students are wearing black mesh joggers with formal uniform. This does not meet the uniform guidelines. To avoid having to purchase additional sets of shoes next year, please ensure your formal shoe purchases for 2023 are LEATHER or LEATHER LOOK.

Prep uniform and Yrs 1-4 Sport uniform: Black joggers with black or white trim are still acceptable for 2023, however this will be as a transition period. From 2024, sport uniform shoes will be all black. If you are in any doubt how long you will get out of a pair of shoes for your child, I urge you to simply purchase all black joggers from now.

These are acceptable for formal AND sport uniform.

These are acceptable for SPORT UNIFORM ONLY.

We are very excited across the Early Years to be preparing for our upcoming Early Years Christmas Musical, which will see every student in the sector participating. The details include:

Name: “The Midwife Crisis”                                 

Performance Date: Thursday 1 December

Time: 12.30pm

Venue: OLSCC Multi-purpose Centre

Every family will have received an email earlier this week with details of your child’s role and costume requirements so please keep your eye out for that.

We are seeking parental assistance to create some simple extras for the performance – such things as cutting out cardboard stars, sewing elastic onto crowns etc. To facilitate this, we invite you to our Christmas play working bee! The details are:

What? Snackchat – the creative edition! A time to come together to join in snacks and friendly conversation while we work together!

When? Thursday 27 October, 6:30pm-8:00pm – any time you can join us within that will be great!

Where? Senior Art Room                

Who? Any responsible adult who can help!

What do I bring? – BYO scissors, needle and thread

Katrina Walton

Assistant Principal Early Years

Swimming Carnival Results

 

Records

Lachlan Fraser

Boys Under 13 100m Freestyle 1.06.75 (Chris Ryan 1988, 1.10.56)

Boys Under 13 50m Freestyle 30.22 (Michael Harding 1992, 30.44)

Clay Lawson

Boys Under 16 100m Freestyle 1.00.09 (Scott Hensler 1987, 1.01.68)

Boys Under 16 50m Backstroke 33.10 (Scott Hensler 1987, 34.04)

Boys Under 16 50m Breaststroke 37.80 (Patrick Boland 2018, 37.91)

Boys 200m Individual Medley 2.38.65 (Patrick Boland 2019, 2.41.70)

Boys 200m Individual Medley

1^st Clay Lawson, 2^nd Hamish Colquhoun, 3^rd Bailey Martin, 4^th Lachlan Fraser

Girls 200m Individual Medley

1^st Macie Allen, 2^nd Clare Griffiths

Staff / Captains Relay

McAuley, Nolan, Rice, MacKillop

All Age Relay

1^st McAuley, 2^nd Nolan, 3^rd Rice, DQ - MacKillop

Boys Belly Flop Competition

1^st Jaiken Crothers, 2^nd Lyhkan King Togia, 3^rd Travis Tia, 4^th Hunter James

Girls Bomb Dive Competition

1^st Dakota Wilson, 2^nd Charlotte Wood, 3^rd Charlotte Kelly, 4^th Taylor Marshall

Boat Race

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

Noodle Race

1^st Jack Marchant, 2^nd Brock Sankey, 3^rd Hayden Taylor, 4^th Jaiken Crothers

Pool Toy Retrieval

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

Across the Pool Relay

Boys – 1^st Mac Stirling, 2^nd Charlie Johansen, 3^rd Travis Tia, 4^th JC Piodas

Girls – 1^st Arabella Donaldson, 2^nd Charlotte Kelly, 3^rd Hannah Taylor, 4^th Olivia Ham

SW Rugby Sevens Competition

Under 13 Boys Results Week 2

TGS Red defeated OLSCC

Under 13 Boys Results Week 3

OLSCC defeated TGS Maroon                17-14

St Mary’s defeated OLSCC                     44-0

Under 13 Girls Results Week 2

Fairholme defeated OLSCC                    41-5

Mary MacKillop defeated OLSCC

Under 13 Girls Results Week 3

OLSCC defeated Highfields SSC            20-5

OLSCC defeated Toowoomba SHS         20-5

Under 15 Girls Results Week 2

OLSCC defeated Highfields SSC            22-17

OLSCC Drew with TAS                          24-24

Primary Touch Football

Congratulations to all students who competed at the Swans All Schools Carnival in Dalby on Sunday. Thanks to Miss McDuff and Mr Scheuch for their assistance in coaching our teams and to Senior students Claudia Child and Brock Sankey for refereeing. Game results are listed below.

Mixed Team – 3^rd in Pool A

Win vs St Joseph’s Chinchilla                 4-2

Loss to Concordia College                      3-0

Win vs Dalby SS                                    7-1

Loss to St Thomas Mores                       3-2

Boys Team – 5^th in Pool A

Loss to St Mary’s C                                5-0

Loss to Dalby South A                            11-1

Loss to Toowoomba Anglican                 5-2

Loss to St Mary’s A (overall winners)       11-0

Secondary Touch Football

Congratulations to all students who attended the QLD All Schools Carnival at Runaway Bay on the Gold Coast. Thanks to Leah McDuff, Kaysey Wilkins, and Lorelle Sankey for their assistance in coaching our teams, along with Brenton McMillian who refereed on behalf of the College.

The Under 15 Boys had a strong pool and were up against some well renowned Touch Football Schools which was always going to be challenge. The boys competed hard in all games and put in their best efforts for the College. Two thirds of the team were only 12 or 13, so it be a great learning experience for future years.

Loss to Lockyer District SHS                               10-2

Loss to Suncoast CC                                         4-0

Loss to TCC Rockhampton (Quarterfinalists)       13-0

Loss to Brisbane Adventist                                 4-0

Loss to Morayfield SHS                                      6-2

Loss to Benowa SHS                                         9-0

The Under 15 Girls had a sound carnival finishing fourth in their pool with three wins, two draws and two losses. With only two girls fifteen this year, hopefully the girls can improve on these results again in 2023.

Draw with Windaroo Valley SHS                         1-1

Loss to Palm Beach Currumbin (overall winners)  13-1

Loss to Centenary SHS                                      6-2

Draw with Rockhampton Grammar                      2-2

Win vs Trinity Lutheran Ashmore                         3-1

Win vs St John’s Roma                                      3-2

Win vs Good Sheppherd Noosa                          1-0

The Under 18 Mixed Team had a great carnival making the quarterfinals of the competition. This is the equal second best result any College Team has had at this carnival. The team did very well to go through their pool games undefeated. The team was eliminated by the overall winners Emmaus College Rockhampton, who have now won the 18 Mixed Division four years in a row.

Win vs Grace Lutheran                                       11-1

Win vs Alexandra Hills SHS                                8-3

Win vs Gladstone SHS                                       9-1

Win vs Benowa SHS                                          9-4

Win vs St Michael’s Carrara                                7-2

Win vs Trinity Lutheran Ashmore                         7-2

Finals

Round of 16

Win vs Sienna Sippy Downs                               3-2

Quarter Final

Loss to Emmaus College Rockhampton               12-3

Volleyball

Best of luck to the Year 7 and Year 8 Boys and Girls Volleyball Teams who are competing this weekend at the QLD Junior Schools Cup Competition at the Gold Coast. Full results and scores will be in the next edition of the newsletter.

State Athletics

We have four students competing at the State Athletics Championships this week. Good luck to Isabelle Manly, Gemma Sullivan, Mason Geisel and Archie Stephens.

Tim Lincoln

Middle Leader Sport 

Yesterday, we hosted our School Based Trainee and Apprentice students with their parents. employers and trainers at our annual thank you lunch which ws held at the Dalby Leagues Club. The occasion is very special for our students as they accepted their certificates and thanked their employers for giving them the opportunity of gaining a qualification while still at school. Karen Coulston and Karen White from Toowoomba Catholic Schools run the SBA program and they were present to hand out awards and join with Mr Cuskelly in thanking the employers for making our students achievements possible. We had 21 Year 12 students step forward to accept their certificates which is a fantastic number for our small cohort. Congratulations to these students and thank you again to all our wonderful employers and trainers for attending the lunch and for accepting students from our College for the SBA program.

Libby Baxter

Careers Development Practitioner

We are racing through term four and soon enough we will be celebrating Christmas. Through out the school we have been partaking in many restorative conversations. In the senior school we have been discussing healthy coping strategies in times of stress. Please find below a list of coping skills that you can discuss with your young or old person.

Colour Run 

The Organisation for the colour run is also in full swing, with fundraising ending on Friday 11^th of November.  The run will occur on 28^th of November, starting at 12:10. Parents are welcome to come and complete the obstacle course with their child/children. Parents will be asked to sign in on arrival and meet their children at the school oval. I have attached a guide of the approximate times that each class is expected to run the course.

Colour Run Timetable

Katrina Ballantyne

College Counsellor

Reminder, families have a couple of weeks remaining of October to lodge their applications for Semester 2 2022 for the School Transport Assistance Scheme subsidy. These close 31 October 2022.

Further information can be obtained by accessing Non State Schools Transport Assistance Scheme (NSSTAS) (schooltransport.com.au)

The Sacrament of Reconciliation is open for enrolment at St Joseph's Parish.

Year 7 students will receive their 2^nd HPV (Human Papillomavirus Vaccine) dose at the College on Wednesday 26 October 2022. If you have any concerns, please phone the College on 4672 4111.