Term 4 is here already!

We have much arising in Term 4 after a crazy and unexpected year. While things continue to be different in the journey through COVID-19, we are striving to engage our community more, albeit in a different manner than before the pandemic. Please take note of the events coming up this term, and keep abreast of updates through the College Facebook page as new events and details are explained. Tomorrow we will be disseminating information regarding the details, dates and times of Year 12 celebrations for all those involved. 

Importantly, we have scheduled the College Awards for Wednesday, 18 November, which will be livestreamed for the community due to COVID restrictions. 

We greatly look forward to being able to gather in greater concentrations next year, though for now it remains our upmost priority to keep our community safe by following the guideleines provided by the state and federal government.

Art is ESCAPISM Art Gallery Exhibition @ Gallery 107

I was thrilled to be able to attend the OLSCC and Dalby State High School Art Exhibitions at Gallery 107 yesterday. The standard is very high and there are some amazing pieces that would look at home in GOMA or on the wall of any house.  A huge thanks to Mrs McArthur, Mrs Lilburne, Mrs Kucks, Mr Thacker and all the helpers and artists who made this exhibition a reality.  Make sure to get along and check it out for yourself!

External Examination Preparation Program (EEPP)

Last week, the Year 12 students at OLSCC and all other Colleges in the diocese had the opportunity to engage in the EEPP which focussed on subject specific programs being delivered for many Year 12 subjects being offered across the Diocese.  This concentrated program was established so that students may learn, engage, receive feedback and ultimately perform better in their external assessments that will take place later this term.

Student Leadership Positions

Yesterday, I presented the student leadership program and processes for the selection of the OLSCC House Leaders, Junior House Leaders, College Prefects and College Captains.  Student Representative Council processes will be shared with year level groups over the coming week.  Further details of this will be discussed with students and emailed, as well as opportunities made for students to ask any questions in Week 2.  

Getting the Basics Right

Whilst 2020 has been a year like no other, we are still focussed on providing the best education as possible for our students.  Staff have worked considerably on Visible Learning, general teaching practice and focussing on the learning needs of every student this year, though we remain vigilant in getting the basics right for our students so they have the best possible learning outcomes for this year, and into the future.  The most important element of this is attendance.  Teacher practice only matters when the student is in class.  Unfortunately, there are quite a few students that need to considerably improve their attendance and engagement in class in order to make the most of the great learning environment that is provided for them.  Every day at school counts, and unless a child is ill or significant matters arise, every student needs to be in every class possible.  This ensures they are learning and achieving every day, as well as building continuity in their learning.  Please make this a common discussion in the home and ensure that your child gets every chance to learn and succeed by being present in their classes on a daily basis.

Student Enrolments

While many year levels are full or almost full for 2021, we still have spaces in the Middle and Senior Years for 2021 enrolments.  While we never aspire to become a large College, we certainly recognise that with reasonable class sizes comes staffing and resourcing that supports the learning and facilities that we are able to provide for all of our students.  If you know someone who would like to explore the opportunities at OLSCC for the future, please encourage them to make an appointment and see what we are all about.  It's never too early to explore the opportunities we can provide, though unfortunately we can only provide this within reasonably sized classes for the best learning of all our students. 

Peter Cuskelly

Principal

Welcome back to Term 4.   

Dear Lord, 

We ask that you be present in this space. 

Lord, as we prepare for the coming of a new term make us ready, attentive and available to hear you. 

Thank You for the gift of being able to rise each day with the assurance that You walk through it with us. 

Thank You for the gifts of creativity and uniqueness, and the energy to put them to good use. 

May all that we are today, all that we try to do today, may all our encounters, reflections, even the frustrations and failings all be placed in your hands. 

May the work we do and the way we do it, bring new hope, new life, and courage to all we come in contact with this term. We thank you, Lord. 

We make this prayer through Christ Our Lord, Amen 

End of Year events 

We are in initial stages of planning our end of year events.  With COVID guidelines, the format of many of these will change.  As more details become available we will update families. 

Awards Ceremony – Wednesday 18 November – students only 

Graduation Mass – Friday 20 November – Yr 12 students and their families only 

Christmas Carols – Friday 27 November 6:00pm-8:00pm College families 

Parent Student Teacher Conferences 

It was great to see parents and students attend the conferences at the end of last term.  Remember that parents can contact teachers at anytime via the College office or email if you would like to discuss your child’s progress.  Face to Face interviews can be booked but approval needs to be gained for entry so these need to be booked in advance, class teachers can assist with booking these meetings. 

Parent Portal – change of use 

Our use of current Parent Portal will end at the end of 2020 as we move to our new system Sentral.  In preparation for this change, you may like to download your digital copies of student report cards before your access is removed.  Report cards from before 2020 will not be uploaded to the ‘new’ parent portal.  2020 Report Cards will be uploaded and be available in 2021 but will not be uploaded this year.   

Cate Brennan

Deputy Principal Religious Education

In Week 9 of last term, the Year 10 students travelled to Noosa North Shore for four nights of adventure and excitement and a chance to let their hair down after a hectic couple of terms. The camp included activities such as high ropes, raft building, canoeing, stand up paddle-boarding and mountain biking. The students enjoyed challenging themselves to step out of their comfort zones and particularly enjoyed participating in activities that they have never done before.

Then in Week 10, the Year 9 group travelled to Tewantin for their survival type camp at the newest QCCC camp location. This camp was a culture shock for some of the students who had to really rough it in small tents on a yoga mat with all meals prepared around the camp fire with no tables and chairs. The students participated in survival activities on the first two days and then experienced some indigenous culture with the leaders from Tribal Link. All aspects of the camp were new and challenging with some amazing new skills learnt.

Check out our photo galleries of some of the fun.

Welcome back for Term 4. I trust all students and their families had a nice and relaxing break and are ready to begin the final push for the academic year. This week I would like to start by congratulating one of our Year 5 students for receiving an art award then below I have included some reminders for everyone so that we can hit the ground running in what will be a fast paced and short term.

Congratulations

John Greenaway is to be congratulated for receiving a place award in the Art is Escapism Middle and Senior Years Art Exhibition 2020. Well done John.

Reminders

Laptops
The College will continue to perform random checks of student laptops and to monitor activity during class time. The purpose of these checks is to ensure that these devices are being used for the intended purpose of enhancing student education. Any student found to be using them inappropriately will be called to account.

Personal Appearance

Hair should be well groomed – clean, brushed or combed, sensible and conservative in style (e.g. natural hair colours, discrete hair colourations, streaks or tips). We expect that boys hair does not reach their collar nor hang over their face. For girls the expectation is that shoulder length hair is to be tied back in a red, black or white hair tie or scrunchie. If your child’s hair style does not meet the College expectations please ensure that this is amended before the beginning of Week 2. Staff will be completing a hair and uniform blitz of all Middle Years students in Week 2.

Water Bottles

The school days are starting to get warmer and so it is important that students are appropriately hydrated throughout the day. This will ensure they can remain focused in classes during curriculum time. Students are permitted to bring water bottles into classes and are encouraged to do so. Leaving class in order to get a drink is a practice that is now discouraged as vital information can be missed by students. Please ensure your child has a water bottle for classes.

Mobile Phones

Personal mobile devices are not to be accessed by students through the school day. Any student who is caught using their mobile device, without explicit teacher permission, will have it confiscated. The College would prefer for these items to remain at home. If parents need to contact their child throughout the school day, please contact the College office so that a message can be passed on.  

Being Prepared for Class

It is an expectation of the College that students arrive at class suitably prepared for learning. At this stage of the school year students are often running short of some supplies. Please ensure your child has all of the necessary equipment for all of their lessons. This includes workbooks/exercise books, pens, rulers, calculators etc.  

Craig Cullen

Assistant Principal Middle Years

This week, all classes should receive a letter from their child’s class teacher outlining the core content to be covered during Term 4. You will notice that we have been sending this information home at the beginning of the term (rather than receiving it with your child’s report card at the end of term) for just over 12 months now. The purpose of doing so is to provide clarity for all families about what is being covered by your child in the classroom this term. As such, it is easier to support your child in their learning journey by knowing in advance what they are engaging in.

Our recent Parent Student Teacher Conferences highlighted just how engaged our students are in their learning by clearly articulating where they are at in their learning journey and what goals they had set to continue to progress. This format of student led conferences was a major step forward in our Visible Learning journey and allowed us to engage more fully in feedback, reflection and goal setting. I thank all students, parents and teachers for the commitment they made to this progressive approach to reporting. I am particularly grateful to the flexibility of all families in embracing a variety of delivery methods, from face-to-face to online zoom conferences. Whilst the shadow of COVID continues to change the way we are used to operating, we need to acknowledge the new skills and ways of working we have learned from this unusual time. I am keen to gather feedback from parents and caregivers regarding the Parent Student Teacher Conferences. Each family from Prep-Yr 6 has been emailed a (very brief) survey to complete to gather this information. Thankyou in advance for completing this at your earliest convenience.

The link can be found here

Please remember that as always, there is no need to wait until formal interview periods if you wish to discuss anything with your child’s teacher. Parents can contact teachers at any time and in whatever way best suits their needs. I especially encourage any parents who were unable to participate in the recent Parent Student Teacher Conferences or any who had technical glitches, to make contact with your child’s teacher soon.

Katrina Walton

Assistant Principal Early Years

Rugby League

Darling Downs Under 15 Grand Final

OLSCC 24 defeated Lockyer District SHS 22

Tries – Lyhkan King Togia 3, Jacob Utz, Bailey Rathmell, Brock Sankey

A fantastic effort from the Under 15 Rugby League team to win back to back Steve Price Cups and finish the season undefeated. In a very tight final the boys were down 14-0 early and only hit the lead in the remaining 3 minutes of the match. Thanks to Steve Gillespie and Ben O’Callaghan who collect the Year 9 Boys from camp to ensure we had a full team for the game. Thanks also to the parents, staff members and senior students who came to support.

Primary Touch Football

The SWQ All Schools Touch Football Carnival will be held in Dalby on Sunday, 1 November. At this stage the carnival will not be allowing spectators. A boys and girls team have been nominated for this competition. Trials will be held next week to finalise teams for this event. This is for students in Years 5/6. 

Aquathlon

Any boys or girls turning 11 or 12 in 2021 (Born 2009 or 2010) who would like to participate in the Darling Downs Aquathlon trials please see Mr Lincoln for more information. An Aquathlon consists of a 1km run, 200m swim, followed by another 1km run. These trials will be held at the Dalby Aquatic Centre on Friday 23 October. Students must be able to swim the 200m without stopping.

Triathlon

Any boys or girls wishing to be a part of the Darling Downs Triathlon Team for 2021 please see Mr Lincoln for more information. This can involve any student turning 13 or older in 2021. Students must compete at the Oakey Triathlon on Sunday 8 November to be eligible for selection.

Water Polo

Congratulations to Bailey Martin who competed at the State Water Polo Championships as a member of the Capricornia Team.

Secondary Touch Football

Day 1 of the QLD All Schools Touch Football Carnival began in Brisbane yesterday. The Under 15 Boys team had a solid day with a win, draw and a loss. The Under 15 Girls Team had a win and a loss.

The Under 18 Mixed team begin their carnival on Friday and have their game on Saturday morning at 8.00am against Matthew Flinders Anglican College being livestreamed via the QLD All Schools website and on the QLD Touch Facebook page.

Volleyball

Congratulations to all students who played against Dalby SHS on the last Thursday afternoon of Term 3. The Year 7 girls had a win 3 sets to 0 and the Open Mixed Team losing 1 sets to 2. Thanks to Mrs Lincoln and Mr Milford for coaching our teams. Another game against Dalby SHS will be scheduled later this term.

Rugby Sevens

The SWQ Rugby Sevens Competition begins in Toowoomba next week. The Under 15 and Open Boys will play on Tuesday afternoon and the Under 15 Girls on a Thursday afternoon. The College Coach will go to all Tuesday games. Boys interested in playing need to sign on via the Sports Notice Board. Twelve players per team will be needed each week. Trials will be held if required to select teams for the season. The Under 15 Girls team has been finalized after training and playing last term. Please see the draw below for the next fortnight. The full draw can be found at

https://www.downsrugby.com.au/south-west-7s

Week 2

Tuesday 13 October

Thursday 15 October

Week 3

Tuesday 20 October

 Thursday 22 October

Tim Lincoln

Middle Leader Sport

The Art Exhibition was launched this week with a Virtual Opening recorded.

The theme of our Art Exhibition is Art is Escapism. This is due to the simple fact that Art, by its very nature, allows us to escape the realities of life and be surrounded by aesthetically pleasing imagery. It values the process undertaken by artists and the engagement of the audience in escaping for a while the grind of daily life. It is imperative we all stop, reflect, think and wonder from time to time and Art allows us to do just this.

This year, our Judge was Kylie Bourne (artist and councilor). She judged student work on the following criteria:

1. Originality in use of visual language
2. Skill in selected media/s and development of process
3. Ability to convey intended meaning

To continue to highlight the Art Exhibition, Art Workshops will be held at the College in our well-equipped Visual Art Studio. These will be held each Thursday for the length of the Art Exhibition (Thursday 8, 15, 22 and 29 October) from 3:30 pm – 4: 30 pm. Bookings are essential through College Office on 4672 4111. It is advised students bring a paint shirt.

Schedule of Art Workshops:

Here's a photo from the Workshop held yesterday.

The students had a great time decorating hydrodipped masks with drawing, sequins and feathers! Next week is Tissue Paper painting.

Bronwyn McArthur

Visual Art Teacher

Congratulations to Bailey Cleary who has completed his Certificate II in Automotive Underbody through the AccelR8 program organised by the Department of Employment, Small Business and Training. Bailey has been working at Black Toyota for the last two years and we thank all the staff involved for providing him with the support and encouragement to finish his qualification.

Bailey is pictured with Rosie Crank from Black Toyota and Tanya Codd from Department of Employment, Small Business and Training.

Ella Bache have an opportunity available for a School Based Trainee at their Dalby store. If you are interested in this position and commencing a School Based Traineeship, please see Mrs Baxter ASAP.

Western Downs Regional Council has also provided us with information about apprenticeships and traineeships available in 2021. Please see the following flyers for the details and how to apply. This is for school leavers and applications are by individuals, not through the school.

Careers Development Practitioner

In the last week of Term 3, The LYF committee, particularly Mrs Gormley and Mrs Martin, organised a food drive for St Vincent De Paul. This was no ordinary food drive as each class was encouraged to try for the longest line of food donations out of the rest of the College. Long packets like spaghetti and biscuit packets were an advantage and after much careful setting out and measuring, the winner of the longest line of food was Prep Blue with a grand length of 18.31 metres. That’s 60.1 feet! Following them was 6C with a length of 17.67 metres, 1D was third with 16.45 metres and placed fourth was Year 12 with a line 14.84 metres long. The combined length of all the food lines was 203.54 metres. A huge thank you goes to all those who helped including staff and students. We are very pleased to be able to offer the donated food to St Vincent De Paul in Dalby to help those in need in our community.

Many entries were submitted for the Child Protection Week Art Competition and the organisers at Toowoomba Catholics Schools were very honoured to have received so many beautiful entries from students across the diocese. The students artistically captured the spirit of Child Protection Week 2020.

From Year 5T, highly commended recipients were Molly Gibson, Harry Burton and Madeline Hemmings while Jacinda Smith received a second place.

Thank you to Mrs Carey Twidale for engaging the students in this opportunity.

Here are the last two recipes!

The full Culinary Cookbook will be posted in the next Newsletter with a variety of different recipes that are enjoyed by our different cultures in our College. 

Look out for further information as to where these recipes can be found as a complete cookbook on the College website. We hope that this can be the start of a tradition with many recipes added overtime.

Thank you to those students, staff and parents who got involved and showed great initiative. We are very appreciative and could not be happier with the outcome which has served to build religious and cultural relationships. 

Here are the last two recipes!

Breanna Tanks

Year 12

Medication Collection

Any medications that are kept at the College Office for your child's use at school must be collected and signed for by a parent after 3.00pm on Friday, 4 December.

2021 Medications

Any students who require medication to be administered whilst at school will need to bring their child's medication, administration for medication forms and 2021 Medical Action Plans (e.g. Asthma, Anaphylaxis, and Diabetes) in to the College Office by Monday, 18 January 2021.

If you have any queries regarding this, please contact Tracey Boland at the Office on 4672 4111.