Monday 29 July to 2 August - Yr 7 Camp Fraser Coast

Friday 2 August - Yr 9 Retreat

Wednesday 7 August - Prep Excursion to Myall Creek

Wednesday 7 August - Netball QLD Gala Day Years 4-6

Thursday 8 AUgust - Mary MacKillop Feast Day

9 - 11 August - QLD Senior Schools Cup Volleyball Yrs 11/12 Gold Coast

Saturday 10 August - Our Ladies Long Lunch

10 - 18 August - Science Week

24/40 = 60%  

We are almost two-thirds through our academic year and I am very pleased with our progress so far. This is the first year of our strategic plan, “Inspiring Education”, and an important one for developing new knowledge and skills to enable the intent of the strategic plan. In addition to this, our implementation of the new V9.0 Australian Curriculum continues, as does our implementation of new general and applied subject syllabuses in Years 11 and 12. I would like to thank our staff for the commitment to our students and their profession by continuing their learning and growing in these spaces. In the education space, we constantly face change as we strive to inspire our students to grow, learn and develop in such a wonderful environment. I am very proud of the staff, students and supportive families we have in our College that makes it such a special place for our community.

Staff Welcome

Since the last newsletter a few new faces have been gracing our grounds. We are very excited to welcome the following staff to our team:

• Mr Jon Stam – Mr Stam will head up our work in INTAD supporting learners throughout Semester 2 while also creating a vision for the future in INTAD, STEM and Design. He comes with a wealth of experience and commendation from various programs he has designed, developed and implemented, and also has dual trades underpinning his educational knowledge.
• Miss Becky Gillan – Miss Gillan completed her final preservice placement with Mrs Workman in 3W earlier in the year and has taken on the role of Primary Relief for the rest of this term. Her work across primary will support the continuity of quality teaching in classrooms while staff are on leave, in cases of sickness, and also while teachers are supported with their work in the new curriculum.
• Mr Col Anderton – Mr Anderton is a highly experienced teacher who comes to us from Toowoomba. He has been Head of Sport and Head of Department in various roles in the past and has a broad capability in his teaching, his coaching, his leadership and management skills, as well as his own personal skills based through a commitment to learning. Mr Anderton has taken on the role of Secondary Relief Teacher until the back end of Term 4.
• Mrs Barb Andrews – Mrs Andrews makes the final puzzle piece of our Administration team. Mrs Andrews will be looking after Student Services, Enrolments, our Newsletter and Socials. When next in the College Office make sure you say hi to all the ladies. 
• Ms Ellie Widgell – Ms Widgell comes to us from Cunnamulla as an experienced Student Services Teaching Assistant. Ellie will be seen mainly working in our Senior Classrooms.
• Mrs Toni Campbell  - Mrs Campbell has started as our new Tuckshop Convenor this term and has some wonderful ideas for the future. Her experience in tuckshops as well as in the retail sector stand her in good stead to continue providing great food options for our students and staff.

NAPLAN

Last week we sent home NAPLAN reports for our students in Years 3, 5, 7 & 9, along with a very helpful information sheet on how to interpret these results. I am very well aware of the opinion of NAPLAN in the media, however, I find great value in NAPLAN testing. Firstly, it is the comparable data in education in Australia where schools and students can determine how they are progressing and achieving compared to schools & colleges across the entire country. There is nothing else that even comes close to allowing schools and communities to understand their comparable performance in the teaching of the curriculum at these year level junctures.

Secondly, it prepares students for life. We don’t place high pressure on our students for NAPLAN testing intentionally. We use the testing process as way to develop the capability of our students to perform in an examination environment. There are times when everyone in placed in a situation where they experience feeling such as anxiety and NAPLAN is one way of preparing our students for future examinations and high pressure situations. 

Thirdly, some students thrive in these conditions. The day to day function of the classroom is not always the best way for students to show capable they really are.  There are many students across our College who perform significantly better in NAPLAN conditions than they do in assignments or general classwork. This mode of assessment allows many, including our highest performing students, to show just how capable they are.

And finally, the information it gives us is imperative to our overall planning, teaching, planning for personalised learning and our insight into the specific needs of our work in general. On Tuesday night, our teaching staff took the time to delve into some of the NAPLAN data that we can access to inform our practice. We can clearly see our excellence, progress and areas for future work, and as one teacher commented, how pleasing the results were over the last few years and how the progress is consistent.

Our results continue to improve. We have set very aspirational targets for our general NAPLAN Data, and are already well on our way to achieving them. In fact, in 7 out of 20 areas, we are already achieving over 70% of all students are achieving either “Strong” or “Exceeding”. Remarkably, in Year 3 writing this year, 89.4% of students were “Strong” or “Exceeding, and 0% “Needs Additional Support”. What’s even better is that the result last year was remarkably similar.  In addition, our target of less than 5% “Needs Additional Support” is also being met 9 out of 20 areas, with an overall average of 7%.  Comparably, the State average for all schools is 13.3%. 

Well done to all our learners who participate in NAPLAN annually and of course, our staff who guide our learners every day.  

QCIS Athletics Monday

At OLSCC we focus on a wholistic education for all our students. We do so by providing a wide array of opportunities for them to engage in with students from other settings.  On Monday, 53 students and 5 staff squeezed onto a coach, and hit the road to Concordia Lutheran College, one of our proud QCIS schools. I would love to say that the air was warm and the breeze gentle, though that simply wasn’t to be.  It was cold – bone-chilling cold – and the wind was smearing ice across the cheeks of runners all the way to lunch.  Despite this, our students were excellent. We only took limited numbers to compete, so the students that went were required to compete in many events each – some even filled the whole card by competing in every single event. Some even did so in the year above their age bracket. We had runners throwing and throwers running as well as a great support team full of cheers and blankets. Even in the 400m races at the end of the day, Lane 3, our lane,  was always full. While we didn’t get a trophy (we did get second on average points though, and fourth on aggregate points against much larger schools with double the athletes on the day), it was a truly beautiful day for our students to cherish and remember. A huge congratulations to all our students who braved the conditions and gave their all on Monday – we couldn’t be more proud of you! Thanks also to Mr Lincoln who is secretary for QCIS for the next two years and manages and oversees all events and the running of the organisation.

Go for Gold Grant Application

Late yesterday we were informed that we were unsuccessful in our application for Go for Gold funding. We had applied for a $5M sports centre to be built on top of the old bitumen basketball courts which would have met the intent of the grant and created a great facility for both our College and the Western Downs. A huge thanks to our Business Manager, Mrs Sarah Hall and the staff at TCS for their support in developing the application. 

Peter Cuskelly

Principal

Deputy News

Last week we joined 32 Toowoomba Diocese schools, 312 Queensland Catholic Schools and over 19000 staff employed by Catholic Schools in Queensland to celebrate Catholic Education.  We often get asked by prospective families what makes us different or what being a ‘Catholic’ School means?  This is a very large question and not very simple to answer but the most important part is that we have Christ as our centre.  We grow with our young people and staff, so they can experience Jesus in their own lives and try to emulate his values in their own lives, through their interactions with others and the world in which they live.  To capture the essence of our Catholic College is difficult but when you visit us you can feel it, you can see it and you can experience it through the amazing staff, students and families who are part of our OLSCC family. 

Learning Discussions Feedback

Feedback from families about our reporting last semester valued the changes we made to our Learning Discussions.  While there is variance in the feedback on the length, timing, frequency and booking timeframes of these discussions, overwhelming feedback valued the format changes and the extra opportunity to meet after receiving the mid-year report card. One important factor that was heard through the feedback was that ongoing and open communication between home and the college negates the need for major meetings about student progress or challenges.  Accordingly, I continue to encourage both our staff and you, our families, to make contact with class teachers as soon as you notice a change in your child or have something you wish to discuss about your child’s learning and development.  This open dialogue helps to ensure that learning can continue for your child in the best possible way.  All our teachers have work email addresses which is sent home in unit communication. A full list of these has been added to the RESOURCE section of Parent Portal for your reference.  Our expectation is that teachers will reply within 48 hours (in consideration of working days/hours) of receiving your email.

Learning Discussions Term 3

Learning Discussions will be offered in Week 7 with your child’s teacher/s.

• 10 minute discussions will be for parents and teachers (students optional)
• Open Two-way Discussion - This first question the teachers will ask in this discussion is what you, the parent, would like to discuss about your child as a learner. This is to open the dialogue and ensure this is a ‘discussion’ not an ‘interview’.  This two-sided conversation is to discuss your learner’s progress so far this year and opportunities for growth. 
• Time has been allocated for all staff P-12 from 3:30pm-5:30pm on Thursday Week 7. Teachers will then allocate an additional hour around their own commitments throughout the week. These times will all be shown on the Parent Portal booking platform.
• Optional Learning Discussions

These are not compulsory for parents and if you have been communicating with your teacher about your child’s progress you may not feel it is necessary to attend these. We have allocated particular times for these formal Learning Discussions.  For our teachers in Year 7-12, that teach multiple classes and students, we ask that you consider which teacher/s you wish to have discussion with and prioritise booking with these. If you have teachers for multiple subjects, one time will be used to cover all subject questions.  A letter detailing bookings for these discussions will be sent via email to all families and posted on Parent Portal.  Bookings open this Friday 2 August at 4:00pm and will remain open until 9:00am on Monday 19 August. 

COLLEGE EVENTS

We love it when families join us for College events. Our next big College Event is Our Lady of the Southern Cross Day.  On this day we join together as a whole College for Mass at 12:30pm in the MPC followed by an afternoon of whole college athletic events on the Main Oval.  These events include All Age Relay, the Tresillian and Gillespie Gifts.  This is a great afternoon to join us to celebrate the magic that is our Prep – Year 12 College community.

WHY DO WE HAVE PUPIL-FREE DAYS?

Are you curious why we have Pupil-Free Days?  These days are extremely important for our staff to gather and to be lifelong learners themselves.  The Toowoomba Catholic Schools office designates each year which days these will be taken on and over the course of year we have 10 Pupil free days allocated.  Five of these occur outside of the school terms either in the week before students start in Term 1 or after school in the form of extended professional learning sessions until 7:30pm. The other five occur during the school term, one at the commencement of Term 1, Term 2 and Term 3, one aligned to Catholic Education Week and the other a Friday usually in late August or early September.  On these days the staff collaborate and engage in professional learning aligned to directions set by Toowoomba Catholic School Office as well as annual goals and priorities as set by the College each year. Some of these occur here at the College whilst others occur at different locations like last Friday’s Bishops Inservice Day which was held at St Mary’s College Toowoomba.  The dates for Pupil-Free Days for 2025 are:

Week 0 – 21 January – 24 January (before students commence)

Tuesday 28 January

Tuesday 22 April

Monday 14 July

Friday 1 August

Friday 5 September

DATE CLAIMERS – Term 3 and beyond

30 August - Pupil Free Day – Staff Professional Development

2 September – Our Lady of the Southern Cross Day Celebrations

13 September – Grandparent’s Day Celebrations & Last day of Term 3

30 September – First day of Term 4 (10 week term)

7 October – King’s Birthday holiday

21 October – 12 November – Year 12 External Exams

13 November – College Awards of Excellence Ceremony

15 November – Year 12 Graduation Mass

2 December – College Christmas Carols (twilight)

5 December – Early Years Nativity Play (during school day)

6 December – last day of Term 4 (10-week term)

Cate Brennan

Deputy Principal Religious Education

International Friendship Day 30^th July

I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. John 15:15 NIV

A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for a time of adversity. Proverbs 17:17

First, discuss what Jesus did to be a good friend and the impact it had on those around him.

• Jesus spent time with Zacchaeus (Luke 19:1-10). After Jesus visited Zacchaeus at his home, Zacchaeus changed his behaviour. He stopped living a sinful life and went out of his way to make things right.
• Jesus talked with his disciples (John 15:1-17). Jesus no longer spoke to them as servants; he spoke to them as friends. He shared the secrets of God with them. Because of this, the disciples could share the love and Word of God with the rest of the world.
• Jesus listened to the cries of Mary and Martha (John 11:1-44). Jesus shared his friends’ pain when their brother Lazarus died. Because of his empathy, Mary and Martha saw Jesus as a close friend who cared about their thoughts and feelings.

Let your child know Jesus wants to be their friend.

Sometimes children feel like no one likes them or wants to be their friend. It is important for them to know not only is Jesus a good friend, but he wants to be their friend. We know this because he tells us in Matthew 19:14.

Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.”

Read this verse to your children and talk with them about how Jesus loves them and that they belong in his kingdom.

Finally, ask your child to explain what they think it means to be a friend to Jesus. How might they respond to his friendship? Jesus sets his own best example for us to teach our kids how to be his friend.

• Friends spend time together. We show our friendship to Jesus by spending time with him. Share what spending time with Jesus looks like for you.

• Friends talk to each other. We talk to Jesus in prayer. Jesus wants us to share everything with him, just like we might with any of our earthly friends.

• Friends listen to each other. We can pause to listen to Jesus the same way he listens to us. This is a great time to teach our children that prayer is not only about talking to Jesus, but also about listening to what he has to say.

Remember that Jesus is your friend too! You can partner with him to teach your children the blessings of a godly friendship.

God of faithfulness and love, We thank you for the gift of friendship. May we never take this gift for granted. Help us to reach out to others to include them in our circle of friendship. Let us be people whom others can lean on when they feel lonely or when times are difficult. May your promise to be with us always, encourage us to be there for others. We make this prayer in Jesus’ name. Amen

Carey Twidale

Middle Leader Living Your Faith

Year 10 Senior Education and Training (SET) Plans

Next week Year 10’s begin the SET plan process, it will be wonderful to assist these students as they work towards their individual pathways. The process not only highlights the dedication of the College to individualised education but also showcases the commitment of students and their families to charting meaningful pathways.

Uniform

A gentle reminder, the expectations regarding the uniform will not change. We continue to emphasise with the students that the uniform is important in setting the tone for the College community. A student wearing the uniform correctly shows that they have pride in themselves and pride in the community they belong to. A school uniform reduces incidents of bullying and the stress of peer pressure as all students are the same. Uniforms do not distinguish between socio-economic backgrounds like free dress does.

The uniform also helps the students focus on their job at hand. They are students not fashion statements while at school. Wearing their uniform helps the student 'switch on' to student mode and it provides the students with a reminder of what the expectations of the College are and how they are supposed to behave and apply themselves to their learning.

A student wearing their uniform well in public shows they are proud of being a part of this community. When a member of the wider community sees a student who is proud of where they come from, it often reflects to the student in the way the member of the community interacts with them and their opinion of the school.

Study Tips for Students going into exams

Make a plan of attack

Before you even start studying, make and plan out how you are going to study. This will make your life so much easier.

There are a few things you may want to ask yourself when making a plan of attack, these are: 

By asking yourself these questions, you figure out where to focus your efforts over the coming weeks. Now, you can structure your plan of attack based on how you are feeling about each of your subjects, and the tasks you want to get done (tasks could include practice essays/exams, touching up on sections of the textbook, reviewing flashcards, etc.). 

Start by catching up on anything you’ve missed out on. So, this means:

• Finishing off any notes you are missing for each subject (please don’t rewrite any of your notes, just fill in the blanks)
• Touching up on content you are struggling with (you can do this by going back over your textbook or by watching some YouTube videos that explain it — you can also check out QCE Together to find videos for various subjects). 

Next, start to study for the subjects that you are least confident in. Then, as the external exams get closer, focus on the exams that are the closest. 

While you are studying, keep in mind the tasks that you want to get done. I would encourage that, for your subjects, you complete practice papers or questions in the 1-2 weeks leading up to the exam. 

Time Management

Managing your time in the 4 weeks leading up to your exams will be key. There will be a lot to do, so getting through each task efficiently and effectively will be crucial to your success.

For example, on a Methods and Physics day I might’ve made a list like this:

As you can see, you have the morning and evening off to do whatever you want (hopefully getting a minimum of 8 hours of sleep!!) and you get plenty of breaks throughout the day. Now, these time restrictions aren’t hard restrictions.

For example, if you were really struggling with differentiation after the 30 minutes, move onto confidence intervals and potentially go back to differentiation.

The key things about managing your time are:

• Knowing what you want to achieve with your time (hence why making a plan is essential)
• Having time for fun. 

It is important that you still get to enjoy life leading up to your exams. Give yourself at least one day off a week where you can just have fun and get a break from studying.

Staying Motivated

Potentially one of the greatest challenges you’ll face throughout school, particularly in the lead up to your exams, is maintaining motivation. In moments where motivation is low, it helps to take a step back and look at the broader picture.

Remind yourself of what your goals are and the reason you are studying. If there is a certain subject score you want to get, think about that. It helps to make goals that you can think about when you need a motivation boost. 

Other ways to help you stay motivated are to:

• Ensure you have time for the fun things in life
• Get enough sleep and take plenty of study breaks
• Study in fun and engaging ways
• Rewarding yourself for your efforts 

Mr Rodney Spain

Assistant Principal – Senior Years

Staying healthy this Flu season
The cool weather and the time of the academic year often sees a spike in illness among students in Term 3. While some things are unavoidable, here are some tips to give you child’s body a fighting chance this flu season:

• Stock up on immune-boosting superfoods
  One of the best defences is to look at what goes into your body. Green vegetables, mushrooms and honey all help with boosting your immune system.
• Get enough sleep
  I have communicated the poor sleep trends of teenagers via the newsletter, and yet sleep remains one of the best defences for fighting illness.
  
• Don’t forget probiotics
  Probiotics can boost the immune system making them effective in fighting illness. Probiotics can be found naturally in fermented foods like yoghurt but there are plenty of other options readily available in shops.
  
• Seek stress relief
  Stress takes its toll on your body. Helping to manage stress, especially with good time management around assessment time, while help your body be at its fighting best when defending against illness. Adequate rest is important.

While attendance at school is important for ensuring the continuity of learning, families are encouraged to keep children at home to rest if they are not fit for learning through illness. Adequate rest and recovery times will ensure their body will be back on top in the shortest time possible.  

Middle Years Camps  
Our Year 7 students have avoided much of the cold snap by heading off on camp early Monday morning. They are now enjoying learning in more outdoor classrooms along the Fraser Coast region of the Sunshine State. Even though the weather has been cold in Hervey Bay, it has not hit the negative temperatures that we have been experiencing this last week. Please jump onto the Facebook page to follow their adventures in Maryborough, Hervey Bay, and on Fraser Island- K’gari.

Later this term, our Year 8 students will depart on their camp. They do not travel quite so far as they make their way to the Bunya Mountains and the surrounding region to learn and experience learning in HASS outside of the normal classroom.

Not to be outdone, the Year 5 students have their camp early in Term 4 and will be heading down to Brisbane and Saint Helena Island for their camp focusing on learning in HASS, Science, Religion.

Online Safety – Awareness

Safe on Social is an organisation that highlights the importance of protecting privacy online and exploring the growing threats of sextortion and deepfakes. The organisation aims to be proactive while sharing awareness-based solutions that guide individuals on how to interact confidently in an online world. I recently listened to a podcast hosted by Kirra Pendergast and Madeleine West, that provided a number of practical steps to safeguard yourself and your loved ones, and some of their suggestions and tips will be shared with you below.

About the presenters

	Kirra Pendergast	An advisor and consultant in youth online safety. Founder of the group Safe on Social and principal consultant.
	Madeleine West	Actor and advocate for online safety. West, herself a victim of a deepfake, now advocates for and educates about online safety.

What is a deepfake?
This is an image or recording that has been convincingly altered and manipulated to misrepresent someone as doing or saying something that was not actually done or said. It is not just an image.

Face swapping

Deepfake software can replace one person’s face with another’s in videos and photos, creating highly convincing yet fabricated portrayal

Lip Syncing

Deepfakes can make a person’s lips appear to precisely match different audio, giving the illusion they are speaking words they never said

Voice Cloning

Deepfake AI can analyse a person’s voice patterns and then generate a synthetic version that mimics their unique speech with uncanny accuracy.

The danger associated with advancing technology, especially in the mobile phone app market, is that the Deepfakes output is becoming increasingly more sophisticated, while at the same time, the user input effort is being gradually minimised. Basically, AI is doing the heavy lifting. A decade ago, access to the software that could manipulate images in such a way was costly and simply out of reach for most people. These days the AI-powered digital manipulations are quick and easy for the user, usually directly from a phone app that may cost a few dollars or even be free to download.

While it is often reported that people initially created fake content as a joke, the implications of deepfakes are real and significant. Modern criminals also use this technology for enabling identity theft, the spread misinformation, and to exploit individuals.

For those who are interested, in the table below there are some recent news stories relating to the creation of deepfake content and its impact on school aged children.

Deepfake stories make the News recently

Safe on Social have identified some common dangers associated with deepfakes that parents need to be aware of so that protective measures are put in place.

So, what can parents do to help their child?

1) Protective Strategies

Strong passwords	Keep software updated	Avoid phishing scams	Report Deepfake content
Create lengthy, unique passwords, and store them securely.	Regularly update your devices and software to ensure that you have the latest security patches and protections.	Be wary of suspicious emails and messages, as they may be attempts to steal your personal information.	If you discover a deepfake involving you or someone you know, promptly report it to the hosting platform and law enforcement.

2) Responding to online coercion

I strongly encourage families being the process of discussing the dangers of online activity with their child. Unfortunately, the reality is that it is a matter of when children come across a phishing scam or a fake account as opposed to if they do. I’m sure every parent can recall the stories of a Prince from different country just needing bank details to get money out of the country or those dodgy emails that indicate that you may won the European lottery … again … without every buying a ticket and if you simply provide some personal details the millions can make their way to you. These old scams are comical today, and yet worked on some victims not that long ago. These days the scammers and their scams have become more sophisticated, may involve incriminating deepfake content about yourself, and are far more believable than ever.

Scamwatch.gov.au reports the following scary data relating to online scams for 2024:

 If you or anyone you know has been impacted, please feel free to access the following supports:

• Lifeline – https://www.lifeline.org.au/
• Headspace Australia - https://headspace.org.au/
• Beyond Blue - https://www.beyondblue.org.au/
• eSafety Commissioner - https://www.esafety.gov.au/
• Crimestoppers Qld - https://www.crimestoppersqld.com.au/

Craig Cullen

Assistant Principal Middle Years

Under 6 Day

Girls Rugby Sevens

The Darling Downs Independent School Sevens begins on Friday with games being played in Dalby from 3.00pm. The following two weeks games will be played at Downlands College before the QCIS Carnival on Friday 6 September.

Bunya District Athletics Carnival

Congratulations to all students who competed at the Bunya District Athletics Carnival last week. The College had a fantastic day winning both the overall points and average points trophies.

1500m Race Results

Under 10 Boys – Justin Hemmings 1^st (Record), Henry Cassidy 2^nd

Under 10 Girls – Sophie Lincoln 1^st, Isabel Barnett 3^rd

Under 11 Boys – Ace Utz 1^st, Mason Francis 3^rd   

Under 11 Girls – Lucy Scott 4^th   

Under 12 Boys – Benjamin Barwick 3^rd   

Under 12 Girls – Bella Cusack 1^st, Ella Ramage 2^nd

Multi Event Results (100m, 800m, Long Jump, Shot Put)

Under 10 Boys – Henry Cassidy 1^st, Jack Neal 3^rd    

Under 10 Girls – Angel Ncube 2^nd, Gabby Heintze 3^rd   

Under 11 Boys – Ace Utz 1^st, Charlie Sullivan 2^nd   

Under 11 Girls – Harriet Manley 3^rd, Pippa Smith 4^th    

Under 12 Boys – Benjamin Barwick 1^st, Archie Stephens 3^rd  

Under 12 Girls – Bella Cusack 1^st 

Age Champions

Under 9 Boys – Wylie Timms

Under 9 Girls – Lauren Barwick

Under 11 Boys – Charles Sullivan

Under 12 Boys – Benjamin Barwick

Under 12 Girls – Bella Cusack  

Students selected in the Bunya District Team to attend the Darling Downs Trials – Lauren Barwick, Bella Cusack, Chrel Dora, Scarlett Hall, Sophie Lincoln, Maddison Meacle Lyell, Angel Ncube, Ava Robinson, Keziah Rochford, Amara Sim, Samantha Spies, Benjamin Barwick, Riley Burton, Henry Cassidy, Charlie Flesch, Mason Francis, Justin Hemmings, Declan Matthews, Joshua Ncube, Archie Stephens, Charlie Sullivan, Wylie Timms, Felix Twidale, Ace Utz.

QLD Combined Independent Schools Athletics Carnival

Thanks to all students who represented the College at the QCIS Carnival in Toowoomba. The weather wasn’t ideal for an Athletics Carnival, however our students competed well all day. The College finished second in the average points based on school enrolment and fourth in the overall points.

Age Group results:

Girls Confraternity Shield Rugby League

Over the June / July holidays Karlie Falvey and Gaby Anderton were part of the St Joseph’s College Toowoomba Girls Team for the Confraternity Shield. The team finished in 8^th place out of the 12 teams. Thanks to St Joseph’s for providing this opportunity for our girls.

Girls Rugby League

Congratulations to Mia Johnston who has been selected in the Darling Downs Under 12 Team for the State Championships in Brisbane.

Touch Football

Best of luck to the Under 13 Boys, Under 15 Boys, Under 15 Girls and Under 18 Mixed Touch Football Teams who will compete at the Swans All Schools Championships in Toowoomba on Sunday. Students were fortunate to have QLD Touch Development Officer Brendan Taylor run a training session last week.

Volleyball

Congratulations to the Open Girls Volleyball Team who won the Darling Downs Schools Cup Competition. This is the fourth straight year the team has won this competition. Thanks to Mrs Lincoln for coaching the team. Game results are listed below. Hannah Taylor was named Player of the Tournament. The team will now attend the QLD Schools Cup on the Gold Coast.

Pool D Winners

Win vs Concordia College           25-5

Win vs Toogoolawah SHS          25-10

Quarter Final

1^st in Pool D vs 2^nd in Pool B

Win vs Mary MacKillop               25-11

Semi Final                   

Win vs Fairholme College           25-9

Final

Win vs Harristown SHS              25-22

Catholic Schools Sport

A terrific day out was had by our Year 5/6 Netball and Touch Football Teams at the Catholic Schools Carnival. Thanks to Miss McDuff, Miss Crow, Miss Fry and secondary students Kaitlyn Harms, Charlotte Bennie, Abby Zillman, Will Cook and Fletcher James for assisting with coaching and officiating our games. Congratulations to the Year 5 Girls’ Netball Team who won the competition and the Year 6 Girls who finished Runners Up. Both Touch Football Teams finished second in their pools.

Netball Results

Year 5 Division 1 Winners

Win vs Our Lady of Lourdes                    12-0

Win vs St Anthony’s                               15-0

Win vs Mater Dei                                   9-3

Win vs MacKillop                                   6-1

Win vs Downlands                                 6-0

Year 6 Division 1

Win vs Mary MacKillop Boys                   16-1

Win vs St Anthony’s                               15-0

Win vs St Saviour’s                                11-5

Win vs Downlands                                 9-1

Win vs Our Lady of Lourdes Boys           15-0

Loss to St John’s Roma                          8-6

Year 6 Division 2

Loss to St Monica’s Oakey                     9-4

Win vs Mary MacKillop                           13-0

Win vs Our Lady of Lourdes                    1-0

Win vs St Saviour’s                                12-0

Win vs St Mary’s Warwick                      4-3

Touch Football Results

Year 6 Division 1

Loss to St Mary’s White                          5-1

Win vs Mary MacKillop                           2-0

Win vs St Mary’s Gold                            6-0

Win vs St Thomas Mores                        5-0

Win vs St Anthony’s                               8-0

Year 6 Division 2

Loss to St John’s Roma                          4-1

Win vs St Thomas Mores                        5-1

Win vs St Saviour’s                                6-1

Win vs Holy Name                                 4-1

Win vs St Mary’s                                    4-2

Tim Lincoln

Middle Leader Sport

Careers Expo 2024  

The annual Careers Expo was held on Friday 19 July at Dalby PCYC. OLSCC students from Years 9 to 12 and students from Dalby and surrounding regional schools including Millmerran and Tara were invited to attend the expo.  

Exhibitors included those from Dalby and travelling from as far as the Gold Coast, set up their stalls and presented opportunities of future careers on offer for the students. Local businesses provided students with opportunities in a range of careers. It was also exciting to have a large range of national and multinational businesses represented at the expo that also provided students with a range of opportunities from aviation, energy, mining and agriculture, earth moving machinery and plant equipment.  

Universities and training organisations were also on hand to speak to the students on future post-high school education opportunities. It was evident during the day that the students were very engaged with this opportunity to meet exhibitors and develop an understanding and appreciation of the careers available in their future.  

An event of this size and nature takes a great deal of planning and preparation. A big thank you to the Dalby BEST Group and Tracey Boland for organising this event. Also thank you to the groundsmen from OLSCC, Lisa and groundsmen from Dalby State High School, and the groundsmen from the Dalby Christian College for assisting in setting up and packing up this event. 

We would like to thank Origin and the University of Southern Qld (UniSQ) for their sponsorship for this event along with The Dalby Training Centre and Brumby’s Dalby for their donation.  

QTAC APPLICATION 2025 

Current Year 12 ATAR students have been invited on 1 August to begin their journey of applying for university courses in 2025. The College has allocated the afternoon session for these students to register for their ATAR along with QTAC and then start the process of applying with QTAC for desired university placements. Correspondence on this activity has been sent to parents and students regarding what is required for this event.  

Student Education and Training Plan (SET) 2025  

Current Year 10 students have been allocated a time in Week 5 (starting from 5 August) to attend a meeting with Mr. Spain, Mrs. Forbes and Mr. Garside to discuss future pathways for students moving into Year 11 and 12. These are important meetings to assist students with tailoring their education and training needs for the future. If you are a parent/carer of a Year 10 student, please ask your child/children to provide you with the time and place of the meeting they have been allocated. We highly recommend parents/carers attend these SET plan meetings as an integral part of your child/children’s journey through senior years and beyond.  

University of Queensland Presentation 

On Thursday 18 July, representatives from the University of Queensland presented information regarding university courses and life on campus at St Lucia and Gatton. Also presented was information on guaranteed minimum ATAR thresholds for courses selected for 2025. The university also offers a range of applied education and training programs to build the skills of future industry leaders that they call UQ Skills.  

Key Dates for 2024 

5 August                     Yr 10               SET Plan Meetings  

20 August                   Yr 7 & 8 UniSQ Discovery Day 

2-4 September Yr 12 Barista & RSA 

9-10 September Yr 10 Manual Handling & First Aid Course 

9 September Yr 11 CPR course (optional) 

11-13 September Yr 10 Barista Course 

17 October Yr 12 SBA/Traineeship Employer thank you lunch  

Apprenticeships  

Reece Plumbing in Dalby are offering a School based Traineeship his position is open to current Year 10 and 11 students to complete the Certificate II in Supply Chain Operations. 

Key points to note: 

Certificate II in Supply Chain Operations (TLI20421) 

18–24-month program 

Working one day per week along with the Saturday Morning 

Combination of Warehousing and Retail skills 

The ideal candidate needs to be outgoing, respectful, willing to work in a team environment 

The student must be willing to shine in customer service 

Commitment to complete Year 12 is a must 

 Students are encouraged to apply for this traineeship via the link below 

Reece Group (myworkdayjobs.com) 

Komatsu apprenticeships open on July 1, 2024. If you are interested in a trade/qualification commencing in 2025 in one of the following areas, then click on the link at the bottom to register: 

Plant Mechanic - Cert III in Mobile Plant Technology 

Auto Electrician - Cert III in Automative Electrical Technology 

Electrician (High Voltage) - Cert III in Electrotechnology 

Automative Sales (CSR) - Cert III in Automative sales 

Register - Komatsu Apprenticeships for 2025 

Dean Garside

Careers Development Practitioner

Hi Everyone,

All OLSCC families, will be receiving a letter from FACE regarding how you can help raise funds for our upcoming Saints Race Day, happening on Saturday, 21 September 2024.

This letter outlines the 4 wonderful opportunities that your family or business can do to be involved and raise funds, which are pivotal in providing premium resources and facilities for your children. The 4 opportunities are:

1. Sponsorship - We have a new and exciting sponsorship program launched for 2024. We would love the opportunity to introduce and promote your company to the Dalby community. 
2. Live Auction - We are seeking quality donations to be used as part of our live auction. This exciting event will take place on the Race Day in the afternoon. Donators will be acknowledged through Social Media, College Newsletter and announced on the day. 

​** If you would like to make a cash donation, this will be put towards a ‘Holiday Package’ to be auctioned off.

1. Multi-Draw Raffle - We are seeking quality donations that can be part of the Multi-Draw raffle. This year we are putting together 4 raffle packages that will be on display in the College foyer in the weeks leading up to the Race Day. We would appreciate all donations that can fit into any of the following categories:
1. Mens Pack
2. Ladies Pack
3. Childrens Pack
4. Family Fun Pack
2. Attend the Race Day! Tickets are currently available in Sponsorship Packages, and will be open to the OLSCC and Dalby Community in early August. Keep an eye on socials for an update on the release date. 

We ask that all donations be brought into the office by Monday 12th August.

On behalf of the OLSCC Face and Community Engagement (FACE) committee, we extend our heartfelt thanks for considering this opportunity. For any questions or more information, our friendly Committee members are just a call or email away.

DalbyFACE@twb.catholic.edu.au

Kaitlin Machin

FACE President

Seven students from OLSCC attended the St Joseph’s School Horse Sports in Chinchilla on Friday 19 July at the Chinchilla Showgrounds. The team looked very impressive in their red pullovers and College ties and were awarded second place in the March Past with Nate Muller carrying the banner.

• Hannah Riddle was awarded 4^th place in the 10 years age group
• Laura Riddle placed 3^rd in the 7 years age group
• Nate Muller placed 3^rd in the 12 years age group
• Zeb Thompson was awarded with an encouragement in the 11 years age group
• Maggie Thompson placed 3^rd in the 5 years age group

Congratulations to these riders who were proud to represent their school in the equestrian sports.

On Saturday, 10 August, the Dalby Events Centre will come alive as Our Lady of the Southern Cross College Year 12 students host the inaugural ‘Our Ladies Long Lunch’.

This year any funds raised will ensure that students at Our Lady of the Southern Cross College will have access to women’s hygiene products and a contribution will be made to the Share the Dignity organisation. Share the Dignity believes that everyone deserves to be afforded the dignity so many of us take for granted.

Our vision is to make this inaugural event continue into the future as a Year 12 legacy!

For further information regarding Sponsorship, or Raffle Donation please contact the College Office or email dalby@twb.catholic.edu.au.

Watch this space for updates regarding the luncheon and when tickets will be on sale!

We are so excited to have Bella + Spice, Western Downs Traffic and Jo Cuskelly support us on this exciting adventure. Please support the businesses that are supporting us!

BELLA + SPICE – Tracey and Marissa were our very first sponsor for our inaugural event! Thank you ladies for supporting us!

Connect with Bella + Spice on Social (Facebook / Instagram)

Join us for the Coleman Family Fun Run, a vibrant colour run and obstacle course event dedicated to raising funds for the Coleman family. Their beautiful daughter, Mackenzie, has recently been diagnosed with a brain tumor, and we’re coming together as a community to show our support.

The event will take place on Saturday, August 17, on the Joey's Primary School Oval, Canaga Street, Chinchilla and continuing into the evening. Enjoy a fun-filled day with food stalls, kids' entertainment, bar, auctions and much more.

All proceeds will go directly to the Coleman family. Let’s make a difference together and show Mackenzie and her family the strength and love of our community.

More details to come

Sponsorship packages available - email ColemanFamilyFunRun@gmail.com