Columba Catholic College - Charters Towers eNewsletter

A MESSAGE FROM THE PRINCIPAL

Dear Columba Families,

2022 has been a year of reflection and renewal. A year of rich educational and life-giving experiences for our students and community members. As we inch closer towards the end of what has been a wonderful year of learning, let us give thanks for the opportunities and community spirit alive here at Columba over the last couple of weeks.

Last Tuesday we hosted our Annual Mt Carmel Campus Awards Night. Special thanks to members of our community who donated prizes and continue to support our College in so many ways. Congratulations to all of our award winners and to the staff for the contributions to the event. Special thanks to Mrs Maria Peck, Ms Christine O'Sullivan, Miss Kalinda Large, Mr Thomas Andersen, Mrs Megan Lucas and Mrs Jo-Anne Thompson for their part in bringing our awards celebration to fruition. Congratulations to all of our student award winners for their success in the academic, sporting, cultural and Christian service domains of our College this year. A full list of award recipients is noted in our newsletter this week.

Last Thursday we held our last Assembly with our Year 12 students. This was followed by a Graduation Liturgy and Graduation Dinner on Thursday evening. Special thanks to Mr Haydn Champion for the organisation of the Graduation dinner and to Ms Christine O’Sullivan for the preparation of the Assembly and Liturgy. I would also like to acknowledge the contributions of the many people who assisted in preparing and organising these events for our students: Mrs Nita Dxion, Mrs Jo-Anne Thompson, Ms Christine Bell and the wonderful College Facilities Team who worked behind the scenes to prepare spaces across a number of venues. We are blessed to have such a committed team of people.

Thank you to our students, families and staff for being a part of these special celebrations with us. We wish all of our Year 12 Graduates the very best for the future endeavours and look forward to hearing of their success in the years to come.

Last Friday our students celebrated National Ag Day with a Farmers' Challenge hosted at the Ag Centre. Special thanks to Miss Madeleine Carter for leading this challenge and to our students and staff for getting involved.

I would also like to congratulate Miss Madeleine Carter, Ms Christine O’Sullivan and Mr Ryan O’Connor who have been awarded the Executive Director’s Laudato Si’ Award this year for their work in Catholic Social Teaching at Columba. Our College has also received a $1000 grant for 2023 to continue our work in sustainability. Special thanks to our staff and our students for advocating for the care of all of God’s creation.

On Monday we hosted our Year 7 Transition Day and Information Evening for families. Thanks to Mrs Maria Peck and Miss Madeleine Carter for their organisation of activities for our students. Special thanks to our staff for facilitating specialist lessons to orientate our new students to life and learning at the College. We look forward to the new journey ahead with our new Year 7 students and their families.

On Wednesday we hosted our Primary Music Concert. Our student performers have built such great confidence and developed their performance skills. Special thanks to Mr Ryan O’Connor and Mr Thomas Andersen for their work in supporting our Instrumental Music students at St Mary’s in 2022. We look forward to growing this program further in 2023.

Staffing Updates: It is with great pleasure that I announce the following appointments:

Mrs Belinda Hourston has been appointed to the role of Primary Teacher at St Mary's Campus for 2023. Belinda has an outstanding reputation and has a depth of experience in teaching in the Early Years. Belinda is excited about the new position and we look forward to welcoming her to the Columba family.

I am pleased to announce that Mrs Carmen Labuschagne has accepted the position of Primary Teacher at St Mary's Campus. Carmen is currently teaching on Mt Carmel Campus and has had teaching experience in both Primary and Secondary settings. She brings a wealth of experience to the St Mary's Campus teaching team. We wish Carmen all the best on this new step in her teaching career and we look forward to working with her in this role.

It is at this time that we also give thanks for the contributions of those staff who will be leaving the College in 2022 to pursue new pathways in education.

We say farewell to:

Mrs Toni Pilcher who is relocating to Townsville
Mrs Marisa O’Connor who is relocating to Tweed Heads
Mr Ryan O’Connor who is relocating to Tweed Heads
Miss Jessica Allison who is relocating to Perth
Mr Alwande Hlengwa who is relocating to South East Queensland
Ms Leesa Rebgetz who will be supporting Boarding in a volunteer capacity in 2023.

We also say farewell and give thanks to Mrs Sam Kelly, Mrs Jessica Simmons and Ms Melanie Ecclestone whose contracts end at the close of the term.

We thank each of these staff for their contribution to Columba and wish them well on the next step in their journey.

This week we also announced Student Leaders at St Mary’s Campus for 2023. It is with great pleasure that I share the following with you:

St Mary’s Campus Primary Captains: Bridie Jenkins and Clayton Walsh

Benjamin House Captains: Chelsea Archer and Tyler Scharf

McAuley House Captains: Renae Yeo and Daniel Brandis

Polding House Captains: Lilly Lavery and Robert Sorrensen

Rice House Captains: Hannah Brown and Molly Sproat

SRC Principal's Nominee: Bruno Bennetto

Tomorrow we will acknowledge the achievements of our Primary students at our Annual Awards ceremony at St Mary’s Campus. I am looking forward to celebrating the wonderful achievements of our students at this celebration.

Next Tuesday our Year 6 students will celebrate the final stage of their journey at St Mary’s Campus at the Year 6 Rite of Passage and we will come together on Thursday with Carols on the Green at St Mary’s Campus next Thursday evening. We look forward to seeing you there.

Enrolments and class arrangements for 2023 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. Your support is appreciated.

As the year draws to a close, I would like to extend a huge thank you to all members of our community for your contribution to the life of Columba. We are a community of people who are drawn together to share in the gift of education through the mission of Jesus Christ. As we near the liturgical season of Advent may we be reminded of the light of Christ in our lives which is celebrated with the birth of our saviour, model and guide, Jesus Christ.

To those staff, students and families who will be leaving the College in 2022, we wish each of you the best for the year ahead and remind you that whilst you may be leaving Columba, you never leave our community.

I wish each of you a happy and holy Christmas. May God bless your family with peace, renew your hearts with joy and fill them with love this Christmas Season.

Many blessings and we look forward to a new year of learning in 2023.

Melissa Turner
PRINCIPAL

FROM THE ASSISTANT TO THE PRINCIPAL - RELIGIOUS EDUCATION - MC CAMPUS

Dear Parents/Caregivers

With only days to go until our students begin their Christmas holidays, there is much excitement in the air for all! Below is a snapshot of some of the key happenings and events of late:

World Mission Month: In Weeks 3 & 4, we celebrated World Mission Month with a whole campus liturgy, House Money lines, Crazy Sock Day and Soccer Game. Congratulations to Rice House who led the way with the longest money line. Thank you to Year 11 RAE students who created soccer balls that were used for the soccer game. It was wonderful to have Father Emmanuel and Father Sylvester join us, together with a number of other staff, to play soccer on the ovals.

Year 12 Final Assembly: On Thursday 17^th November, all Year 12 students gathered in the Iona Centre for their Final Assembly. This is a special assembly where the current Year 12 cohort hand over the symbols of leadership and our founders to the incoming leaders, there is a blessing of the graduating class and then the Year 11 students form a guard of honour as our Year 12 students depart. The theme of the liturgy was ‘I Will Follow’, and following on with our College tradition, Mr Butler played the guitar (even with a broken arm), Mr Andersen played the trombone and Mrs Porter sang ‘Strength for the Journey’.

Graduation Liturgy: On the evening of Thursday 17^th November, Year 12 students, together with their families, gathered in the MC Dining Room for the Graduation liturgy. The theme of this liturgy was ‘Bearers of Light’. Students were presented with a special commemorative medallion from Townsville Catholic Education and lanterns from the College. They then used the lanterns to light the way for their families and friends as they walked through a guard of honour leading out onto the basketball courts.

CCC Youth Group: In Week 2 and 7, the CCC Youth Group met. The theme of the first meeting was ‘The Feast of our Lady of the Rosary’ and the final meeting was ‘Advent/Christmas’. Our students prayed the rosary and enjoyed making Christmas Angels, Advent calendars, Grateful Hearts and eating Christmas treats. Our Year 12 students who have helped to plan and led sessions throughout 2022 were presented with ‘thank you gifts’. These students include Cassandra McIntosh and Tamika Truong.

Visit to Dalrymple Villa: Some of our Religious Education classes, together with a group led by Ms Raj, have recently made and decorated Christmas cards with beautiful, individualised messages. On Thursday 24^th November, these cards were delivered to Dalrymple Villa by 2023 College Captains, Hannah Wilson and Beau Lavery. This is our way of sharing the joy with the Dalrymple Villa residents at this time of the year.

EREA Leadership Conference: On Friday 18^th November, Beau Lavery and Hannah Wilson participated in a pre-conference zoom with other EREA students and staff from around Australia. This meeting provided them with important information about leadership and the EREA Leadership Conference that they will attend in Sydney in January.

Liturgies and Masses: This term, we celebrated the Benjamin House Mass at St. Columba’s Parish on Saturday 5^th November. We also marked Remembrance Day with a special liturgy and then played ‘The Last Post’, followed by a minute’s silence and then ‘The Rouse’. Father Sylvester and Father Emmanuel have also celebrated the Year 8 and Year 10 Masses with us in the MC Chapel. During this week, all Religious Education classes have conducted an Advent liturgy. This Friday, we will end the term with our Thanksgiving Liturgy in the MC Dining Hall. This is a special liturgy when we reflect on all that we are grateful for in 2022 and farewell and bless students and staff who are leaving the College. At this liturgy, we also hand over our Christmas hampers to the ladies at Prospect and St. Vincent de Paul. A truckload of hampers will be delivered to Prospect later next week and given out to needy people in our local and wider community. We thank students, families and staff for their Catholic generosity.

Advent and Christmas 2022: Advent begins on Sunday 27^th November. This four-week period leading up to Christmas is a time of preparation and expectant waiting for the birth or Nativity of Jesus and return at the Second Coming. During this time of spiritual preparation for Christians, we are reminded of the sacred or real meaning of Christmas. Wherever you find yourselves over the Christmas period, I hope you spend quality time with family and loved ones, that you reflect on the goodness in your lives and that you look to the future with hope

Christmas Mass Times: Mass will be celebrated at St. Columba’s Parish on Friday 24^th December at 6.00pm and on Christmas Day at 8.30am.

Have a happy, holy Christmas with your loved ones.

God Bless.

Christine O'Sullivan
ASSISTANT TO THE PRINCIPAL - RELIGIOUS EDCATION - MC CAMPUS

CSPA CORNER

MC CAMPUS CURRICULUM UPDATES

END OF SEMESTER REPORTING

Student reports will be released on Compass on Monday 5^th December 2022.

COMPASS

Columba Catholic College uses the student management system called ‘Compass’. An important component of this software is the Compass Parent Portal. The Parent Portal is our main point of contact with parents. Each parent is issued with an individual login name and password for the Parent portal.

The Parent Portal allows you to:

view your child's timetable and the school calendar
view up-to-date attendance information for your child
access your child's Semester Reports
make bookings for Parent Teacher Interviews
view the news feed of school announcements, alerts and updates
communicate by email with your child's teachers

Parents and Caregivers will need to access Compass to receive your child’s Semester 2 Report Card.

NAPLAN 2023

A reminder to parents that NAPLAN testing will occur in Term 1 next year. The testing window for 2023 NAPLAN is from Wednesday 15^th March until Monday 27^th March. Testing will begin for Years 3, 5, 7 and 9 on Wednesday 15^th March 2023.

YEAR 12 2022 IMPORTANT DATE REMINDERS

From 9 am on Friday 16^th December, Year 12 students can access final subject results online as well as their Senior Education Profiles (SEP) in their learning account. Learning accounts are found in the Student Portal, accessed via the myQCE website at https://myqce.qcaa.qld.edu.au.
The QCAA no longer prints and posts SEPs to all Year 12 students. Students may print their own SEP.
Students who receive a QCIA will automatically receive a printed copy of their SEP in the mail after 16^th December.
Students must register for access to their learning account in the Student Portal using their learner unique identifier (LUI). Students have been provided with this number and should contact the College Office if they do not know it. Students can log in using their email address and nominated password. Students must ensure that they change their email address to a non-school account.
ATARS will be made available via the Queensland Tertiary Admissions Centre at qtac.edu.au/atar on Friday 16th December 2022. Students must sign up to QTAC’s ATAR Portal to access their ATAR and need to use their name (as shown in their QCAA learning account), date of birth, LUI and email address. Students are asked to please share their ATAR with the College.

Maria Peck
DEPUTY PRINCIPAL - ADMINISTRATION

PREP NEWS

Where has the year gone! As we embark on our final days of Prep, we begin to reflect on the amazing opportunities, beautiful friendships and learning experiences we have all shared together.

Last week, Prep consolidated their learning in English, HASS, Science, Media Arts and Visual Arts by going on an excursion. We went exploring the main street, Towers Hill, Skate Park, Centenary Park, Venus Battery and the Weir. Students investigated these places and were able to identify what makes them special, their features and materials. At each location, students used an iPad to capture which part was special to them. We then enjoyed a lovely morning tea at the Weir before heading back to school. Upon returning to school, students wrote an informative text and created a beautiful piece of art to represent their special place.

Let’s hear from the Prep students about which location was their special place:

Quinlan: Towers Hill because it has a mountain.
Jayden: The Weir because you can fish, have some fun with the playground and have a picnic.
Charlee: Centenary Park because I do lots of fun things there.
Ava: The Weir because you can go fishing there.
Ellianna: Centenary Park because it is fun to play at.
Sophie: Centenary park because it has a playground and flying fox.
Ollie: The Skate Park because there was a playground.
Mercy: The Weir because you can have picnics there.
Wyatt: The Weir because I like fishing there.
Paizley: The Weir because me and Dad get to go there and fish.
Cruz: The Skate Park because I can skate there.
Alexis: The Weir because you can go fishing there.
Piper: The Weir because Daddy lives near there.
Cory: Centenary Park because it is fun.
Xander: The Skate Park because you can ride your scooter.
Jaxx: The Weir because you can go fishing there.
Liam: The Skate Park because I learnt how to jump on the big jumps there and I like the new track.
Mia: The Weir because you can go fishing there.
Noah: The Weir because sometimes you can swim in there and fish.

It has been an absolute pleasure to watch the students learn and grow academically, socially and emotionally this year. I wish them all the best for their new adventure in Year 1.

Lara Burns
PREP TEACHER

This year, the Primary Interschool Swimming Carnival was held on Friday 11th November.

Although it was a small squad of only 23 swimmers, every Columba team member represented the College proudly and performed wonderfully.

At 11am, the carnival stopped, for the children and adults to pay their respects for Remembrance Day. This ceremony was beautifully led by Ryan O’Connor (CCC) and student representatives from each school.

Captained by Mary Sproat and Liam Bartschat, the team came away Champions winning the Aggregate Trophy and coming 2nd for the Average Trophy.

Thank you to the parents and supporters who came and watched, socialized and cheered on the swimmers. Many thanks also to the staff assisting on the day with time-keeping and starting duties.

Congratulations to the following swimmers -

Age Champions

Brodie Beatty - 10 Years Girls.
Liam Bartschat - 12 Years Boys.

Runners Up

Clare Brady - 9 Years Girls
Molly Sproat - 10 Years Girls
Lane McCabe - 10 Years Boys
Clayton Walsh - 11 Years Boys
Mary Sproat - 12 Years Girls

Deirdre Martell
COACH/MANAGER

Term 4 Week 7 - Treating shared spaces and materials with care and consideration

Prep - Xander Durack
Year 1 - Adelyn Whitby
Year 2 - Audrey Bennetto
Year 3 - Chayse Taylor
Year 3/4 - Ryley Brown
Year 4 - Charli Gundersen
Year 5 - Indi Pattel
Year 6 - Erika Truong

Term 4 Week 8- Can be relied on to pack up and tidy with little encouragement

Prep - Ellianna Brown
Year 1 - Noah Germano
Year 2 - Archie Hodgetts
Year 3 - Jesse Brown
Year 3/4 - Ryhen Butler
Year 4 - Mylah Ebsworth
Year 5 - Blade Milton
Year 6 - Isabella O’Sullivan

RESIDENTIAL NEWS

As the school year draws to an end, we have celebrated and farewelled the Year 12 boarding students in a beautiful and final chapel which was held in both girls and boys boarding. It was only fitting that Year 11 boarding students ran the Chapel as they now take on the senior position in the Residences. It is always with mixed emotions when we watch the Year 12 boarders pack up their room for one last time, one of gratitude for being a part of their lives, feeling sad to see them leave and one of proudness for all they have achieved. We are so very fortunate to have been a part of their teenage lives and to have had the privilege of nurturing and guiding them to help them become the wonderful young men and women that they are today. We wish them all the best as they now journey through the next chapter of their lives.

The students have been asked to take home all their personal belongings at the end of the year so that they can refresh their bedding and do a stock take of what they may need for the commencement of the new year. It is also an opportunity to check uniforms and to ensure that they still fit them according to the College expectations. In particular, for girls, please check the length of their day uniform and formal skirt and for the boys, the length of their formal pants and shirt as well as their day uniform. The formal skirt for the girls should be at least knee length.

The bus service to Richmond and Mt Surprise that is provided to boarding families at the end of each term will not be running at the end of this term due to this service not being required. The Townsville bus will be running as per normal on Friday to take students to the airport. The buses will continue to run to Mt Surprise, Richmond and Townville next year.

We would like to take this opportunity to sincerely thank all our boarding families for their continued support throughout the year no matter how big or small. Boarding is always a three-way partnership to ensure the success of our students - the child, the parents and the staff. We are very grateful to have a strong boarding community within our boarding family network.

We wish you all an abundance of blessings for the Christmas season and take this time to enjoy having your children home for this longer holiday break. We look forward to seeing you all back for 2023.

Warm wishes

Michelle Burns & Caroline Jarmey
RESIDENTIAL LEADERS