Columba Catholic College Newsletter Volume 27 No.15 07 November 2024

A MESSAGE FROM THE PRINCIPAL

Dear Parents, Caregivers, and Friends of Columba Catholic College.

‘The mission of the Catholic school is to prepare students not only for academic success but also for a life of service to others.’ (The Catholic School on the Threshold of the Third Millennium: Congregation for Catholic Education).

During the month of October our students have participated in Mission Month. We are very proud of their service and support of ‘Socktober’, with money raised via our Crazy Sock Day, House Money Lines Competition and bake sales. Our students had great fun trying to catch Father Emmanuel during the ‘Socktober’ soccer match recently. As a College we have raised just over $1000 to support the less fortunate in Mongolia, which is a wonderful achievement. John Duiker (Director Catholic Mission) visited our St Mary’s campus recently with Christine O’Sullivan, and was most impressed by our service towards Mission Month. Our thanks to our staff, students and families for their support. Blessings and thanks to Christine O’Sullivan who led our Day of Prayer Across the Diocese last Friday, as we marked the Feast of All Saints with a prayer and Christian Meditation on both campuses. I was most impressed with the respect and reverence demonstrated by our students. 

Columba Catholic College supports entrepreneurial thinking and we are very proud of Isabella O’Sullivan for expertly leading the GLOW (Girls Leading Our World) event, hosted at Mt Carmel on Tuesday 29th October, facilitated by the Academy of Enterprising Girls. Our thanks to Helen Milton for her wonderful mentorship and support (and the sponsorship of the delicious ice-creams). Thank you to our VIP guest speakers for sharing their business knowledge and experience with the audience. 

On Wednesday 30th October, our dedicated First Nations' Team hosted our College Emerging Leaders Showcase and Presentation. We were most proud to see our First Nations' Secondary students receive their awards and hear of their achievements. Our thanks to Lorrette Tassan, Jessie Huen, and Kitrina Otto, for their dedication. Our thanks to Kim McCosker (TCE Indigenous Education Advisor) and Lauren Newman (TCE Project Officer) for their attendance and support of this special event. Our deep appreciation to our dedicated staff Mentors for their support and guidance of our Emerging Leaders. 

Our strong College-Community partnerships are highly valued and we are blessed to have the support of a dedicated College Board and active CSPA, who work tirelessly to raise funds for our College. On Tuesday the CSPA hosted a very successful Melbourne Cup luncheon at St Mary’s. Our thanks to our CSPA Executive Team; Erin Bryant, Fiona Murray, Corinna Gleeson, and Kate Phillipson. Our College Secondary food technology students, expertly led by Tonya Burgoine and Cecilia Louk, created delicious food that was enjoyed by all. We thank Wild Moonfire for hosting the beautiful fashion parade. Our College students who performed at this event delighted the audience with their musical talents. All of our students represented themselves very well, demonstrating our College values and showing #Columbapride. 

This week we have hosted Senior Leaders from Townsville Catholic Education (TCE): Sharyn Bell (TCE Senior Leader), Lee-Ann Barton (TCE Religious and Education Advisor), Peter Stower (TCE Director of Learning and Teaching). Our VIP visitors were excited and pleased to hear of our College achievements in 2024 and our plans for continued school improvements in 2025; an overview of our achievements will be shared at our upcoming Mt Carmel College Awards Night on Tuesday 12th November 6.30 pm at the World Theatre. We are looking forward to our Mt Carmel College Awards Night and gathering as a College community to celebrate the achievements of our talented Secondary students. Please note the dress code for the night is ‘smart’ dress in line with this formal, special event. 

There are seven weeks until Christmas and we thank all College members who have kindly brought in donations for our College Christmas Appeal, helping to create hampers for Prospect and St Vincent de Paul. We look forward to the College Boarders’ Christmas dinner this Wednesday and our thanks to our Residential team for arranging this festive event. We wish our College Primary swimmers the very best as they compete this Friday 8th November at the Interschool Swimming Carnival. Our thanks to Bridie Johnson, Nathan Juhas, Louise Duffin, Gerard Webber, and Belinda Hourston, staff, and parents who are supporting. 

Our Remembrance Day Liturgy will be held at our St. Mary’s campus on Thursday 7th November and Friday 8th November at our Mt Carmel Campus. On Monday 11th November Rodney Lane, the Primary Campus Leaders and Secondary School Captains, and I, will attend the Remembrance Day service at the Charters Towers Memorial Cenotaph. As we observe Remembrance Day, we honour and remember the sacrifices made by those who served in the armed forces ‘Lest We Forget’. My Father was a Major in the Australian Army in the 3rd 3RAR Battalion and served with the Commandos; I will proudly wear his medals on Remembrance Day. This day is a solemn reminder of the cost of peace and the value of freedom. In our Catholic tradition, we are called to pray for the souls of the departed and to express gratitude for their bravery and dedication. We reflect on the teachings of Christ, who calls us to be peacemakers in our world. May we strive to build a future where peace prevails, and may our prayers and actions contribute to a more just and compassionate world.

With continued enrolment growth across the College, we wish to advise that there are waiting lists for several Primary classes and for several wait lists for year levels in Boarding for 2025. I strongly encourage all families wishing to enrol students for 2025 to submit applications as soon as possible. If you have not yet contacted the College, please do so as soon as possible. Thanks in advance for your support. Class arrangements for next year are being finalised. If your child will not be returning to Columba next year, please contact us via office@columba.catholic.edu.au to let us know your intentions. A reminder that departing families are required to give one term’s notice as per our Enrolment and Fee Policy.

With five weeks of the academic year remaining we look forward to various end of year activities and celebrations, including the ‘Big Day Out’ on Wednesday 13th November for our Year 12 students. As a College we will honour our Year 12 students in our Final Assembly on Thursday 14th November at 8.30 am, followed later that day at our Year 12 Graduation Liturgy and Dinner. Please keep an eye on the ‘What’s On’ Calendar of events for our College activities and celebrations. Together, we are focused on our Mission, as we grow together in faith, purpose, and knowledge.

Many blessings,

Jacqueline McNalty

College Principal 

RESIDENTIAL NEWS

Dear Parents, Caregivers, Staff, and Students,

The first 6 weeks of Term 4 have gone very smoothly and everyone has settled back into normal school routine. The residences appear to be very happy places to be. In my view, if the students are happy, then it only stands to reason that staff and parents will be happy as well. The weeks ahead are going to be extremely busy for the College. Please refer to the upcoming events below for some of the events that our boarding students will be involved in. 

Upcoming Events

Staffing

In regards to staff recruiting, the College is excited to be onboarding 3 new House Parents – Mrs Caitlin Hawkins, Ms Ariana Pugh and Ms Kylie Pitt. Mrs Hawkins and Ms Pitt will be working largely in the Boys’ residences and Ms Pugh in the Good Samaritan Residence. They will bring a richness of diversified experiences to the residential community and our students will benefit from their collective presence. 

Personal Grooming 

I now would like to turn your attention to personal grooming. Whilst I appreciate and acknowledge that individuals would like to express their personalities by the way they present themselves, we, as a collective group, need to maintain respect for our standards and College traditions. I am referring largely to grooming matters around hair styles, nails and earrings. Please refer to the excerpt taken from the College Handbook regarding personal grooming.  

• Jewellery is limited to the following items only:
• girls may wear plain gold or silver ear studs/sleepers, (two small, plain studs or sleepers per ear only – must be a matching pair worn in the ear lobe),
• one signet, gold or silver band ring,
• one watch,
• one simple gold or silver chain with a Christian religious medallion may be worn.
• Make-up and nail polish are NOT permitted.
• Hair colourings/styles should not be outlandish. Long hair on girls MUST be tied back. Boys to have short back and side hair style. Fashion extremes are to be avoided. Students who have excessive hair colouring or cuts may be required to wear a hat until the offending colour or style is removed.

Weekend Activities 

Over the last few weeks the boarders have travelled to Townsville for shopping/retail therapy and also had the opportunity for a day of sun, water and food at  the Barra Fun Park. The Barra Fun Park was a much anticipated day for our students and staff and the day did not disappoint. The students had an absolute blast. The students have also had the opportunity to engage in cooking activities, visit the Fletcher River for more fun in the water along with general games played on our wonderful ovals. I would like to thank Mrs Moody and Mrs Jarmey for all their efforts in providing these opportunities for our students.

Regards

Dan Kyle

Deputy Principal – Pastoral & Residential

Get to Know Our Wonderful Residential Staff  

FROM THE DEPUTY PRINCIPAL - PASTORAL & RESIDENTIAL

Dear Parents/Caregivers, Students and Friends of the College,

At the time of writing this article, the Year 12 students are in the midst of completing their final assessment agendas. Time management is obviously a key attribute to realising academic milestones. Without a doubt, effort is a critical factor in goal achievement, but more importantly, effort is key to realising our true potential. These words are supported by John C Maxwell, the famous author who proclaimed that “the quality of your effort today determines the magnitude of your success tomorrow”. This quote suggests that the quality of intentional and focused effort determines the success one can achieve in the future.

College Uniform

As mentioned in one of my articles last term, next year the College will introduce some changes to our current College uniform. Next year, all Year 11 & 12 students will be required to wear the new College blazer. In addition, the College will also introduce a new College hat for Secondary students. This hat will form part of the College Day and Formal school uniforms. This means that the current bucket hat (as per current procedure) will only be worn with the College House and Sports uniforms. Photos of the new blazer and draft College formal hats are included in this article for your convenience. A letter will be sent home to Year 10 & 11 parents towards the end of the year outlining timeframes, costs etc. 

Aerosol Deodorant Cans

Aerosol deodorant cans are not permitted at the College. This is due largely to workplace health and safety reasons. There are suitable roll-on deodorant and pump spray alternatives that can be purchased from local stores such as Woolworths and IGAs. Keeping everyone safe and healthy is always the College’s priority. 

Snake Season

As the current season warms up, it can be expected that snakes will become more prevalent in our community as well. 

 If you see a snake:

1. Note the location of the snake and make sure that this area is isolated until the snake is removed 
2. Clear all people from the immediate vicinity or evacuate the building until the snake is removed 
3. Do not approach, attack or otherwise antagonise the snake 
4. Contact one of the grounds staff, a member of the Senior Leadership Team and or call the Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service on 1300 130 372 and follow the prompts.

For information in regards to snake bites, go to: Snakebite Treatment

Finally, I would like to wish all our Senior students the very best in their future endeavours. It has been an honour and a pleasure to watch these young people mature into young men and women who I am confident will generally make a positive contribution to society post Columba days. 

Dan Kyle

Deputy Principal – Pastoral & Residential

YEAR 1A NEWS

Wow! Where has the year gone? Term 4 already.

I would like to thank Mrs Louise Loadsman for taking Year 1 for me during Term 3 while I was on Long Service Leave. The children had a fabulous time.  

Now with Term 4 well underway, we’re experiencing many exciting happenings in and out of the classroom. We started with daily swimming lessons for the first couple of weeks leading up to the Interhouse swimming carnival. Since then we’ve had Grandparent’s Day, Day for Daniel, the ‘Year 1A and 1B Art Gallery’ showcasing the children’s fabulous artwork from Term 3, and Crazy Sock Day. The children have just finished a wonderful unit on Wombat Stew by writing their own recipe and making pudding cups. 

This week we have the Remembrance Day Liturgy. Besides Assessment during the next couple of weeks, I wonder what other exciting things will be happening!

Deirdre Martell

Year 1A Teacher

YEAR 3 NEWS

Hello Everyone!

Year 3, have been very busy creating' Information Reports' for their living animal of choice. They used MRS GREN ( Movement, Respiration, Sensitivity, Growth, Reproduction, Excretion and Nutrition,) to guide their understanding of what 'living animals' can do. Students are going to show their reports on Week 7 Assembly. The children have also been learning about 'Procedures.' We have read 'Wombat Stew' and then we made up a recipe for our own stews, following a recipe format. In HASS, we have been learning about democracy and why rules are important to help society to function fairly.

For 'Design Technology,' we designed a vegetable and fruit garden, we also added a sprinkler system, to ensure they'd grow. We are also growing flowers in pots. In Religion, we are learning about prayers of Gratitude and Praise. Last week we said farewell to our classmate Annabelle, as she goes to live in Winton. We will miss her dearly. We will soon welcome back Madeline, from her adventures around Australia with her family. We had fun at the disco this term and enjoyed seeing the socks people wore for 'Crazy Sock Day."We are ready for Year 4!

Jacqueline Jolliffe-Martin

Year 3 Teacher

YEAR 5 NEWS

It is hard to believe we are over half way through Term 4! Year 5 has had a fabulous term so far as we were lucky enough to visit Gumburu Environmental Educational Centre in the rainforest of Paluma.  We trekked through the rainforest trails of Paluma and relished the cooler temperatures and novel surroundings. On our night walk through the rainforest we turned our torches off to walk in complete darkness relying on our classmates to guide us. 

We  learnt what we were made of when climbing the high poles and moving along the high ropes course at the Outer Limits facility. We all enjoyed the giant swing, even Mrs Webber and Mrs Archer, after the students’ coaxing! Some of our brave souls even attempted the leap of faith and stood at the top of a pole to jump out to touch the big red ball and then fall (with a harness of course!)

We explored the creeks to look for wildlife in the water. Even though the creeks were very low we found lots of tadpoles, water spiders and even a yabby. 

On the sensory trail, students were blindfolded and led through by teachers or a classmate. It can be confronting to be without sight, but every student had a go. All they had to guide them was a rope and the voice of their guide to make their way over branches, bridges, through netting and around corners. 

It was a fabulous adventure that really focused on personal development and team building. 

We will certainly make every moment count in our remaining days in the classroom as we work to culminate our learning in Semester 2.

Jemma Webber 

Year 5 Teacher

GLOW Event

What a fabulous afternoon!

The GLOW Event (Girls Leading Our World) is an exciting initiative brought to us by Enterprising Girls. It aims to inspire the next generation of female leaders to inspire and curate minds into leadership and entrepreneurship. The afternoon started with delicious Ice Cream by Birdie and we are so grateful that Milton Career Counselling was able to provide this treat! Zoe Foster Blake, who has written 17 books and created her own skincare business Go To, hosted an online Q&A that taught all students from top to bottom how to be a leader, create your own business, and be a true entrepreneur. Further, our inspiring guest speakers wowed everyone with their life stories and inspiration. Columba would like to extend our thanks to the wonderful guest speakers Katie Dunlop from Ice Cream by Birdie, Lacie Clarke from Charters Flowers and Brooke Tindall ABC’s North Queensland Rural reporter. As the mind-boggling ‘get yourself through the index card’ challenge took place many students and staff in the room were surprised with the interesting yet correct ideas used. Be sure to join us next year when we start the Enterprising Girls Club!

DAY FOR DANIEL

2025 SENIOR STUDENT LEADERSHIP TEAM

WHAT'S ON AT COLUMBA

WHAT'S ON IN THE COMMUNITY