Columba Catholic College Newsletter Volume 25 No. 2 - 17th February 2022

A MESSAGE FROM THE PRINCIPAL

Dear Columba Families,

We are delighted to have all of our students back at school and engaged in regular classroom activities. As the weeks begin to move forward we will  build momentum and the College will be in full swing again. With this in mind there are a few general matters I would like to focus on so that we can continue to shine in our college and the wider community.

Calendar Events: Please note that some adjustments have been made to our calendar in the early stages of the term to comply with Government expectations in relation to mass gatherings. Our Campus based assemblies are one of these. We are adaptive and agile and staff have developed creative ways to ensure continuity in this space by remotely delivering assemblies. The staff and students are to be congratulated for their efforts. The current Return to School Road Map expires on 4th March. Once we have an update I will communicate this to our families. We appreciate your support and understanding at this time. Please note that the Road Map does allow for sporting events to continue.

Uniform and Grooming: The way we wear our College uniform is a reflection of ourselves, the college and our family.  As such, it is to be worn with pride and is to align with the College Uniform Policy. I always believe in the statement "Start as you intend to go"… so let’s start the year with high expectations regarding uniform.  In particular I refer to hair cuts and jewellery. Unnatural hair colours and haircuts that do not align with the policy will be discussed with individual students and their families. Please also note approved jewellery as per our policy. Earrings, necklaces, bracelets and rings that do not reflect the uniform  policy will also be questioned and students will be asked to remove these items. At enrolment families agree to our policies and Uniform is one of them. Your support with this matter is greatly appreciated. A copy of the College Uniform Policy can be found here.

Representing Columba: Representing Columba in any sport, or in extra curricular capacity is a privilege not a right and as such I ask that students and families understand that we expect exemplary behaviour for a student to represent the college. I believe that it is a double standard to enable students to represent the college in a sport of extra curricular activity if their behaviour at school is not of an acceptable standard or does not reflect our core values. Learning is our core work and respect is the cornerstone of high quality relationships. If behaviour at school is contrary to this, a student will not be able to represent the college. In instances where students are suspended they will not have the privilege of representing the college regardless of their sporting capabilities. I name this now as we begin a new year, expecting the best of all of our students in all aspects of College life and supporting them to aspire to be their best.

Next Monday 21st February is the Secondary Interhouse Swimming Carnival. The efforts and enthusiasm of our students is ripe for a great day. We look forward to a great day both in and out of the pool. Please note that to comply with COVID safety protocols this is a spectator free event. Whilst we appreciate that this may be disappointing for some, our role is to ensure the safety and wellbeing of all members of our community. Families will be able to access regular updates of the carnival via our Facebook page. Your support and understanding as we endeavour to keep all members of our community safe is greatly appreciated.

In Focus: Pastoral Care and Wellbeing at Columba

As we begin the school year I would like to focus our attention on Pastoral Care and Wellbeing. It is important that as a community we are all aware of the expectations, processes and procedures in place to support our students. The safety and wellbeing of our students is central to our mission as a Cathollic school. In doing so, I wish to draw your attention to the following  information. 

The ‘Big Five’ Values:  At Columba, we focus on ensuring that all actions begin and end with ‘Respect.’ We relate all of our actions and behaviours to the ‘Big Five.’ 

1. Respect for Self 
2. Respect for Others 
3. Respect for Learning 
4. Respect for Environment 
5. Respect for Tradition 

School Safe Persons are those staff with whom students can discuss any concerns about things that happen at school, such as conflict with peer groups or study stress. Their concerns may also be about things that occur outside of school and more serious issues. Please find here the link to information regarding our School Safe Persons.

Positive Behaviour Support

Promoting and celebrating positive behaviour is highly effective in promoting and coaching positive behaviour at school. Clear expectations, positive feedback, rewards and recognition for personal behaviour choices are important for sustained positive behaviour and for highlighting ways to engage in positive relationships at school. Please find here a copy of the college’s Positive Behaviour Support Framework

Procedures for Addressing Bullying

Please find here a copy of College Procedures for Addressing Bullying and a copy of the Diocesan Education Council’s Bullying in School’s Policy for Addressing Student Bullying in Schools DEC Policy  Both documents are used in the management of matters of this nature at Columba. In the coming weeks, we will be liaising with students regarding other ways to report incidences of bullying or inappropriate behaviour at the College, to ensure that there are a variety of ways that this can be communicated to key personnel in the school.

Guidance and Counselling

The effect of life’s stressors on the personal, social and academic development of students is widely  acknowledged. Schools exercise a central role in supporting and assisting student development by providing a  guidance and counselling service. At Columba, the College Guidance Counsellor works in partnership with the College  community to promote and foster student development, mental health and resilience.  The Guidance Counsellor is available to meet with students, parents/guardians and staff to talk about concerns.  This is a confidential service. An appointment can be made either by contacting the Counsellor directly or leaving  a message with the office staff.  

Resources for Families

School TV is a free resource to assist families in raising happy, healthy and resilient youth. These resources are available by clicking on the link on our school website at School TV

We are a community focused on high quality learning and teaching.  We look forward to growing and learning together. If there is anything that our staff can do to support your child, please let us know. Communication is central to high functioning relationships.

All the best for the week ahead.

Many blessings,

Melissa Turner
PRINCIPAL

SECONDARY INTERHOUSE SWIMMING CARNIVAL

Kennedy Regiment Memorial Pool
8.00am-3.00pm Monday 21st February

7.45am    Pool available for 200m swimmers to warm-up

8.00am    Staff and students arrive

8.10am    All helpers should be at their job area ready to start the carnival. All students                             should be in their allocated house area. 200m swimmers will be called to the                               marshalling area

8.30am    200m Championship races commence
                   25m Standard races will follow the 200m.
                   100m Championship races.

The following order will be used for standard events: 25m freestyle, 25m breaststroke, 25m backstroke, 25m butterfly

11.30am-12.00noon   LUNCH

12.00-3.00pm    Championship 50m events 

Please note: Girls MUST wear one piece togs.

Students will need to swim under the lane ropes to the side of the pool to exit. The lane ropes are an expensive piece of equipment. Students will be instructed to avoid holding onto or swimming over the lane ropes.

Day students wishing to order a Boarder's lunch need to order through the school canteen by Morning Tea Friday 18 February (residential students will automatically receive lunch).  The Pool Canteen will be operating but will NOT be able to cater for all staff and student lunches on the day.

This year to comply with COVID safety protocols our event will be spectator free. Families will be able to access regular updates of the carnival via our Facebook page. Whilst we appreciate that this may be disappointing for some, our role is to ensure the safety of all members of the community. Thank you for your support and understanding at this time.

This carnival will take place even in light rain.  If necessary, a decision on cancellation will be made by the Principal, after consulting official weather forecasts.

FROM THE DEPUTY PRINCIPAL - ST. MARY'S CAMPUS

Welcome back to our existing families and a warm welcome to our new families. Although it hasn’t been the usual start to a new school year, we are thankful to now have our teachers and students return to classrooms. I want to express my deep appreciation and thanks to our school officers who planned and prepared a range of engaging activities for the children of essential workers during the first week of supervision. I also commend the team effort of teachers and school officers to deliver and supervise informal online learning and take home resources for our students during the second week. I would like to welcome our new teachers to the St. Mary’s Campus: Ms Brooke Stevensen in Year 4, Ms Shae-Kia Carroll in Year 3, Ms Emma Wiernet in Year 3/4 and Mr Andersen teaching Music. Our new teachers bring a range of experiences, energy and enthusiasm to their classrooms and have had a great start to the year. We also welcome Mrs Brooke Hamlyn in the role of school officer assisting student learning in Years 4 and 5. 

Morning Munchies is back on Tuesday mornings at 7.45am in the tuckshop. Our Mini Vinnies students are once again looking forward to assisting our secondary SRC students with this role throughout the term. Students can look forward to fruit, toast, warm Milo and a catch up with friends. A gold coin donation is warmly appreciated to assist with breakfast supplies. Morning Munchies will continue throughout the term on Tuesday mornings and all our students are invited to participate.  

Our Buddy groups continue in 2022. This year our Prep students will buddy up with Year 6 students; Year 4 with Year 2; Year 1 with Year 3 and Year 3/4 with Year 5. Our students always look forward to sharing time with their buddies and participating in a range of activities throughout the term. Last Friday, our Prep students had an adventurous morning as they participated in an orientation activity around the campus. After reading 'Where is the Green Sheep?' they set off from the Prep room on a mission to find the missing green sheep. Along the way they visited places, met the staff that can help them at school and found some colourful sheep; but not the elusive green sheep. When they finally returned to the classroom they discovered he had snuck back to Prep! Our youngest students are settling into their new school life and we look forward to having them join recess and play areas over the coming weeks as they venture into the wider school environment.

This term Inter-School sport is T-Ball. A girls' and boys' team have been selected from Year 5 and Year 6 students to represent the College on Friday afternoons starting this week. T-Ball has a reduced season due to the late start to school and will have four rounds finishing on Friday March 11. Following on from Inter-School sport will be the annual AFL Gala Day on March 18 and to wrap up sport for the term students will participate in the Primary Inter-House Cross Country on Friday, April 1.

Ash Wednesday is on March 2 and marks the beginning of Lent, which lasts for six weeks. The day before Ash Wednesday is Shrove Tuesday or Pancake Tuesday as we commonly refer to this time of the year that observes the preparation for Lent that marked a time of fasting in the Christian tradition. This year we are taking orders for pancakes to assist with organisation and catering. Order forms have gone home with students and we ask that you please return your forms by Thursday March 24. 

This Thursday we will have a virtual assembly led by our school leaders. Students will join online from their classrooms and awards will be given to students by their class teacher. We look forward to future directives after March 4th that hopefully will see the return of families onto campus for celebrations and events.  

Best wishes for this term,

Joanne Andrews
DEPUTY PRINCIPAL - ST. MARY'S CAMPUS

CURRICULUM UPDATE

ASSESSMENT DATE CALENDARS
Please note that Years 7-12 Assessment Dates have been released in Compass. It is important that students and parents refer to the Assessment Calendars to plan when assessment are due.

CERTIFICATE COURSES AT THE DALRYMPLE TRADE TRINING CENTRE (DTTC)
All certificate courses at the Dalrymple Trade Training Centre commenced this week. Students completing the Certificate II Health Support Services will attend the DTTC on Wednesday, while students completing the Certificate II Engineering Pathways, Certificate II Automotive Servicing and Certificate II in Kitchen Operations will attend on Thursday.

Students will be transported to the DTTC by College bus at 8.45am and will be bussed back to the Mt Carmel Campus at 3.00pm. It is expected that students will sign out at the Mt Carmel Office at 8.40am before catching the bus to the DTTC and check in with Ms Lucas when they return at 3.00pm. Students will be dismissed from the Mt Carmel Campus in the afternoon. Students are not to permitted to drive vehicles to the DTTC.

If Parents / Guardians / Caregivers need to pick students up from the DTTC for an appointment, it is essential that the office staff on the Mt. Carmel Campus are informed of these arrangements. The office staff will inform the staff at the DTTC.

HOMEWORK CLUB
Homework Club will commence this week on the Mount Carmel Campus. Homework Club is available to all Year 7-12 students to focus on their homework and academic studies in a quiet, supervised and relaxed environment, where they can receive support from teachers. Students are able to attend Homework Club:
        • To complete homework.
        • To complete assignments.
        • To revise for exams.
        • To gain specialised assistance to help understand subject content eg. Maths, Science,                               English, HASS.

Homework Club will be held on Thursday afternoon from 3.05-4.05pm in the Library. Teachers volunteer to assist students at Homework Club in subject areas such as English, Maths, Science, Humanities and Social Sciences, Religious Education and Health and Physical Education.

Student expectations:
Students will:
        • Be punctual to the after school session;
        • Be well prepared for each session with adequate homework or assignment or study work;
        • Work quietly and independently of other students;
        • Use computers to assist them with their academic studies only (eg. not play games etc).

Maria Peck
DEPUTY PRINCIPAL - ADMINISTRATION

NAPLAN

In May, our Year 7 and 9 students will participate in NAPLAN Online. Students who meet the criteria of a disability under the Disability Discrimination Act, are entitled to additional supports and provisions to ensure they are able to access the tests on an equivalent basis to students without disability. Our students are generally supported by an Individual Education Plan which stipulates adjustments teacher make in their teaching, learning and assessment to support the individual child. We ask parents of these students to consider if they would like to apply for NAPLAN adjustments to support their child during these tests. 

There is an array of adjustments that the school can apply for on behalf of your child. Some examples are: 
        - Extra time
        - Rest Break 
        - Change in colour schemes  
        - Positioning in the classroom 
        - Simplifying text dense graphics 
        - Alternate Venue
        - Support Person 

Parents are able to make informed decisions around these adjustments by visiting: https://www.nap.edu.au/naplan/school-support/adjustments-for-students-with-disability 

Parents and students are encouraged to engage with the Public Demonstration Site to familiarise themselves with the online test and determine which adjustments would benefit their child. 

If you would like to discuss these adjustments further, please do not hesitate to contact me. 

Chloe Shaw
INCLUSIVE EDUCATION LEADER

CSPA ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

The Columba Catholic Schools' Parents' Association (CSPA) Executive would like to welcome to Columba all of our new students and parents and welcome back all of those who have returned for another year. We are excited about the year to come working with our school towards a year of strong parent engagement. Being able to be involved in the school life of your child is something quite extraordinary. 

The CSPA kicks off its meetings on Monday the 7^th March at 7pm in the St. Mary’s Staff Room.  All parents are welcome and we would love to see some new faces. It is a great place to stay in tune with what is happening in your school and find ways to contribute if you are able to. Our first meeting will be a catch up from the end of last year and an easing into the new year and the exciting new things it brings. There will be a Zoom link sent out closer to the date if you are unable to attend in person.  We hope to see you there.

Fiona Murray
PRESIDENT
COLUMBA CATHOLIC COLLEGE CSPA

CATHOLIC SCHOOLS' PARENTS' QUEENSLAND

REMINDER: NUT FREE ZONE

A reminder to families that both Columba Catholic College is a nut free zone.  Please do not bring nuts or products containing nuts to school.  

Thank you for keeping our students safe.

RESIDENTIAL NEWS

Dear Parents, Caregivers, Staff and Students,

After a couple of weeks of on-line learning, it is great to see our boarders back at the College. Despite the challenging start to the year because of the COVID outbreak across the state, our new and continuing students have transitioned relatively well into the residential community environment. Of course, there is the usual homesickness that students will go through as a result of the temporary separation from their families, but as the term progresses and they settle into a routine, school life will become much easier. Being a former boarder, albeit a long time ago, I recognise the importance of routine (as much as the students dislike it at times) in settling students into boarding school life. 

I would like to commend the families who were so co-operative and understanding of the College’s ‘return to school protocols’.  The Rapid Antigen Tests administered to all who returned to boarding was effective and ensured our boarding houses were safe places to be. I would also like to thank our wonderful boarding and nursing staff for making the return to boarding as seamless as possible. 

In regards to weekend leave, students will only be permitted to attend leave with their parents and/or guardians. All weekly boarders and students who have been on overnight leave with their parents will be required to take a Rapid Antigen Test on their return. Town leave will only occur in small numbers during the week whereby staff will take students to the local supermarkets to purchase incidentals. The reasoning behind this variation to normal school routine is to mitigate risk as much as possible. 

This week we have Mrs Leesa Rebgetz joining the Columba Boarding family. She will commence her duties as a House Parent on the Mount Carmel Campus. Mrs Rebgetz is a former boarding mother and will thus have a good understanding of what a boarding family experiences. We also hope to have our GAP students, Maricalize Herbst, Kyle Crous and Jessica Van Der Mescht  (all from South Africa) here in Charters Towers by the end of next week. Their assistance with running activities in the residences will be well-received by students and staff alike. 

Over the course of the next week, the Boarder Representative Councils will be elected for both Boys’ and Girls’ Boarding.  This is a very important group in terms of ‘student voice’ and they will meet with their respective Residential Leaders regularly to discuss all matters pertaining to boarding. 

Regards,

Dan Kyle
DEPUTY PRINCIPAL - PASTORAL/RESIDENTIAL 

TERM 1 2022 LUNCH MENUS

CSPA NOMINATION FORM

GOLDFIELD HAWKS UNITED FOOTBALL CLUB

CHARTERS TOWERS MINERS JUNIOR RUGBY LEAGUE

CHARTERS TOWERS BULLS RUGBY UNION

PUMP TRACK OFFICIAL OPENING