Columba Catholic College Newsletter Volume 26 No. 5-30th March 2023

A MESSAGE FROM THE PRINCIPAL

Dear Columba Families,

As we come to the close of a great term we have much to celebrate and reflect upon. We have high expectations of our students and a strong learning culture. Term 2 will be an opportunity for us to reflect on our individual and collective story and we will work with our students to set goals and improve in various aspects of their academic life at the college. This term we have seen some great individual student growth and we look forward to continuing to foster this in all aspects of the holistic educational experience we provide the students at Columba.

Reports: Tomorrow Years 7-12 Progress Reports will be released via the Compass Portal. These reports are important point in time indicators for our students and will be valuable discussion tools as we head into Parent Teacher Interviews in Week 1 of next Term. Interviews can be booked through the Compass Parent Portal. I strongly encourage you to take time to reflect on your child’s learning journey in Term 1. In partnership we can build a strong learning culture at Columba.

Staffing Updates:  

It is with pleasure that I announce that Mrs Belinda Moylan has been appointed to the position of Data and Curriculum Secretary. Belinda has a range of administrative, interpersonal and technical skills to bring to the team. We look forward to welcoming Belinda to Columba when she commences in Term 2.

We also welcome Ms Lucinda Gibson to the position of Secondary Teacher commencing Term 2, 2023. Lucinda is a local teacher who is experienced in teaching Mathematics and Science. Lucinda joins us from Distance Education. Please join me in congratulating Lucinda on her appointment.

Ms Maggie Georgopoulos joins the Mt Carmel team as the new Middle Leader Science commencing Term 2. Maggie is an experienced Science Middle Leader with leadership experience in Catholic and Independent schools in Australia; and internationally. Maggie joins us from Townsville. We look forward to welcoming Maggie to Columba.

We say farewell to Mr Greg Buckley who concludes his contract with us this term and to Mrs Suni-Faye Davis and Mr Jason Buczynsky. We wish them all the best on their personal and professional journeys and thank them for their contribution to the college this term.

Special thanks to Father Emmanuel, Mrs Joanne Andrews, Ms Larrissa Crowley and Ms Chrisitne O’Sullivan for their preparation of Holy Week liturgies for both St Mary’s and Mt Carmel students. These are important faith formation experiences for our community members.

On Monday, Mt Carmel students participated in the Secondary Interhouse Cross Country. Special thanks to Mr Callan Newman, Mr Jaymi Evans, our staff, House Captains and supporters who joined us on the day. Congratulations to Rice House who were overall house points winners on the day. Well done to our students for their efforts and participation.

Tomorrow  St Mary’s Campus students will participate in our Primary Interhouse Cross Country which will be held on Mt Carmel Campus. We wish all of the students the best for a great morning. Please come along to support our students as they compete for house points.

As we head into the holiday period I wish each of you a safe and happy Easter. I hope that the holidays provide an opportunity for you to enjoy the people and places that are life-giving to you. May the joy, hope and peace of the Easter season bring the love of Jesus Christ and renewal to all in your family. We look forward to seeing you all next term.

Prayer for Easter

Let Us Have Hearts of Thankfulness

Lord God,

You loved this world so much,

That you gave your one and only Son,

That we might be called your children too.

Lord, help us to live in the gladness and grace

Of Easter Sunday, everyday.

Let us have hearts of thankfulness

For your sacrifice.

Let us have eyes that look upon

Your grace and rejoice in our salvation.

Help us to walk in that mighty grace

And tell your good news to the world.

All for your glory do we pray, Lord,

Amen.

— Rachel Marie Stone

All the best for the fortnight ahead.

Many blessings,

Melissa Turner
PRINCIPAL

FROM THE APRE - MT CARMEL CAMPUS

It seems like only yesterday that we were celebrating Christmas and now Easter is nearly on our doorstep…isn’t the year flying? I find myself musing over this, and yet when I reflect on what has actually been happening in terms of the initiatives and achievements of the Religious Education Department and Religious Life of the School for Term 1, we have certainly been busy!

Caritas’ Project Compassion: Across both campuses, students and staff have participated in a range of projects to raise funds for Project Compassion. The 2023 theme is ‘For All Future Generations’. Each week, we’ve shown students the Project Compassion videos that highlight the stories of people whose lives have changed through funding and education from Caritas. Empowered by an understanding of the ‘how’ and ‘why’, students and staff have given whole heartedly to this cause through the selling of pikelets on Shrove Tuesday, and a green-themed free dress day, Lucky Shamrock competition and bake sale on St. Patrick’s Day. In addition, we’ve also donated money to this worthy cause, filling many Project Compassion boxes to help those in need. Please encourage students to bring their boxes in if they haven’t already done so.

St. Vincent de Paul Teen Vinnies Group: Teen Vinnies at Columba is passionately dedicated to social justice and community service in our College and the wider community. While some members have continued on from previous years, we warmly welcomed new members at the beginning of each year and any time throughout the year.  The following students were nominated and accepted office bearer roles for 2023: President – Imogen Ruyg; Vice-President – Lindsay Kirkwood; Secretary – Reagan Davidson.

During this term, Teen Vinnies members have assisted with selling pikelets on Shrove Tuesday (thank you to Michelle Burns and Girls’ Boarding for cooking the pikelets) and organisation and assistance with St. Patrick’s Day. In addition, Teen Vinnies members have also donated Easter eggs that have been wrapped in a beautiful hamper which will be given to the elderly residents at Dalrymple Villa on the last day of this term. More good works are planned for Term 2 and beyond!

Year 12 Retreat: Year 12 students have been participating in their final Retreat at Bluewater Scout Park, north of Townsville, from 28-30^th March. The theme is ‘To Love and Be Loved’ and the Retreat will be led by Jo McDade from the Passionist Youth Retreat Team. Thank you to  Champion, Mrs Brandis and Mr Broomhall who will assisted me on the Retreat. Our Retreat Program offers students a special opportunity to foster their spirituality and religiosity, and make lifelong memories.

The Colour Fun Run: Less than a fortnight ago, we officially launched the Colour Fun Run across both campuses. We are raising money for playground and outdoor gym equipment for MC and SM Campus. Throughout this campaign, we will run several competitions with prizes for staff and students. The first competition is for the class on each campus with the highest numbers of profiles; students will win icy poles and staff members will win a McDonald’s voucher. If you haven’t created a profile for your child yet, please go to schoolfundraising.com.au, and click on ‘Sign up’ and ‘Student Sign Up’. If there are any issues, please contact me. Remember to send out your link and begin fundraising; there are many fantastic prizes to be won for every student who raises $10 or more! Our Colour Fun Run will be held as part of Founders’ Day on Friday 9^th June.

Enhancing Catholic School Identity Project (ECSIP): Throughout this term, staff, students and families have completed surveys as part of this project. This data will provide us with vital information about our current Catholic identity and will help us to enhance faith experiences of community members in the future. Thank you to those of you who have completed the survey. If you haven't done this yet, please see the instructions below:

Access the following website: https://ecsi.site/au/assessing/

Log in details are as follows:

School:  Columba Catholic College

Entry Code/Password: Ghj654

Survey Access Code: dCVAmR

Families and individuals who complete the survey will be entered into a draw to win a $250 Harvey Norman voucher. Staff will be entered into a draw to win a $250 Titley’s voucher. We appreciate your feedback and encourage you to participate in this survey by Friday 31st March. We also thank our generous sponsors.

Lenten Program:  College staff have been invited to participate in a 6-week Lenten program titled ‘Triumph’, which Joanne Andrews and I have led on both campuses. This program focuses on enabling participants, through prayerful focus on Gospel readings and a series of reflections, to experience the continued grace of the Paschal Mystery through which God has revealed to His great love for us. During the busyness of the term and in the lead up to Easter, it has been deeply refreshing to journey with the participants, sharing the Good News, and getting to know one another’s stories on our faith journey.

Opportunities for students to develop a sense of belonging and give back:  At Columba, we offer a range of opportunities for students to share their gifts and talents, to feel that they belong and to give back to the College and wider community. These include, but are not limited to:

CCC Youth Group: The CCC Youth Group meets once a month in the Parish meeting room at St. Columba’s Parish. Each meeting is led by Secondary and Primary students and involves a liturgy, an educational focus, games and activities on a student-related religious or social justice theme. The dates for Term 2 are:  Saturday 6^th May and Saturday 3^rd June. New members are always welcome to join us!

Staff and Student Prayer: This is held each Friday in the MC Chapel at 8.10am. Everyone is welcome.

CCC Recycling Club: This Club meets fortnightly (listen to notices or check your emails for further details). Our Student Leaders bring House members along and help to organise the recycling, which includes sorting out the rubbish, and removing lids and straws. All money raised goes to the Student Representative Council who purchase items for our students and College community.

SRC Breakfast Club/Morning Munchies: Each Tuesday morning, Secondary students and Primary students serve breakfast on the Primary campus. Thank you to Matilda Peagham who have been purchasing grocery items and assisting each week and to Mrs McIntosh who has been supervising. Thank you also to our local St. Vincent de Paul congress who have generously donated $200 to our Breakfast Club. We have used this to purchase a Woolworths gift card to buy grocery items for the Breakfast Club each week. Also, thank you to Woolworths for donating the milk each week.

Reading or Helping At Mass: Most weeks, our Boarding students volunteer to help by reading at Mass or fulfilling other jobs such as taking up the Offertory gifts or doing the Collection. If you’d like to help out with these jobs or become more involved at Mass, please see me.

Holy Week and Easter:  Holy Week – a time of devotion to the Passion (suffering) of Jesus Christ. From Palm Sunday (Sunday 2^nd April) through to Easter, Christians recall the events leading up to Christ’s death by crucifixion and his resurrection. The three days prior to Easter are important for Catholics, but do we know why?

Holy Thursday is typically when we re-enact the Lord’s Last Supper, the meal that He shared with his apostles on the night He was betrayed and arrested. Like Jesus did with his apostles, our priests usually wash the feet of 12 worshippers. At the Last Supper, Jesus instituted the Mass (Eucharist) and we are reminded of this.

Good Friday is the day of Jesus’ crucifixion and death, and it is a time when we venerate (honour and respect) the Cross. This service is usually held around 3pm (the hour at which He is believed to have died), we go forward and kiss the Cross and in doing so show our profound respect for Christ’s sacrifice for us.  Many parishes have ceased including the Rite of Communion in their celebration of the Lord’s Passion on Good Friday. In other parishes, parishioners will receive Communion (usually from the tabernacle) that was consecrated the night because there is no consecration of the Eucharist on Good Friday.

Holy Saturday is a vigil (at night fall) when we keep watch for the rising of Our Saviour. It is known as the day He went down into the netherworld to bring back up with Him into heaven those who had died before His coming. Up to this time, the gates to heaven were closed and no one could go there because of the original sin of Adam. Jesus changed all that. By paying the price for our sins on the Cross, He gained for us eternal salvation and heaven was opened up once more (https://www.catholiceducation.org/en/culture/catholic-contributions/the-meaning-of-holy-week.html).

If you are in Charters Towers and able to join us at St. Columba’s Parish, the times are as follows:

• Palm Sunday (Saturday 1^st April) - 6pm (Sunday 2^nd April) - 8.30am
• Holy Thursday (6^th April) – The Supper of the Lord - 6pm
• Good Friday (7^th April)  – 3.30pm
• Holy Saturday (8^th April) – Vigil Mass - 7pm;
• Easter Sunday (9^th April) – The Resurrection of the Lord - 8.30am.

Wherever you are and whatever you are doing, spending quality time with family, friends and loved ones is actively living out Jesus’ second greatest commandment – loving one another.

God Bless.

Christine O'Sullivan
APRE - MT CARMEL CAMPUS 

CURRICULUM NEWS - MT CARMEL CAMPUS

INFORMATION FOR PARENTS & CAREGIVERS

Year 7-12 Progress Reports

Year 7-12 Progress Reports will be released on Friday 31^st March through the Compass portal. The report contains a summary of a student’s progress during Term 1 in relation to work habits, personal effort and behaviour.

We encourage you to take some time to reflect with your son or daughter over the holidays on their achievements and efforts during Term 1.  You will have the chance to have conversations about academic progress and results at the Parent Student Teacher Interviews on Wednesday 19^th April (see details below). We encourage you to attend these interviews with their son / daughter to set academic goals for the rest of the semester. If a teacher has requested an interview on the report card, it is important that you attend on the evening, or alternatively make arrangements to contact the teacher to discuss your child’s progress.

Parent Student Teacher Interviews

Prep ‐ Year 12 Parent Student Teacher Interviews will be held on Wednesday 19th April from 3.30pm – 6.30pm. P-6 Interviews will take place on the St. Mary’s Campus and Years 7 - 12 interviews will take place on the Mt. Carmel Campus in the Dining Room. You will be able to book interviews through Compass – if you have interviews on both campuses, please allow time to travel between the two. Students are welcome to accompany their parents to the interviews. Please remind them that they should wear their day uniform.

Bookings can be made from Friday 31^st March until Monday 17th April 2023 through the Compass Parent Portal.

Parents/caregivers of boarders - if you are unable to attend the interviews, you are most welcome to request a phone interview with teaching staff. Please book an interview time with the teacher/s you would like to meet with and then email the office (office@columba.catholic.edu.au) to let the College know you would like a phone interview,  with details of the time booked as well as the phone number the teacher should use to contact you.

Compass Parent Portal

The Compass Parent Portal is our main point of contact with parents & caregivers. It allows you to:

• view your child's timetable as well important events on the school calendar
• view up-to-date attendance information
• enter details of your child’s upcoming or past absences and late arrivals
• access your child's reports
• make bookings for Parent Teacher Interviews
• view the news feed of school announcements, alerts and updates
• communicate with your child's teachers
• update your contact details

You should have been issued with an individual login name and password for the Compass Parent Portal as you will need to access it to receive your child’s Term 1 Progress Report and book Parent Student Teacher interviews.

Term 2 Assessment Support and Homework Club

Years 7 to 12 Assessment Support will commence on Wednesday 26^th April and Homework Club on Thursday 27^th April 2023.

Clare Stead
ACTING DEPUTY PRINCIPAL - ADMINISTRATION

INTER SCHOOL TENNIS TOURNAMENT

This year the gala tennis day was held at the Town Courts on Friday, 17 March. Students from all four schools competed in 3 age divisions: 13s, 15s and Open.

All students enjoyed the experience and played some wonderful tennis. Top performers for Columba included: Nikki Bethel and Torah Hintz (13 years); Harry Pickering and Ella MacPherson (15 years); and Bailey MacPherson and Sam Appleyard (Open).

ASSG was the most successful school at the tournament, winning 357 games in total. Columba finished second on 312 games with BTC third on 301.

Many thanks to Miss Emma Systa, Mr Jaymi Evans and Mr Callan Newman for their help organising and running the tournament. Thanks also to the CT Tennis Club for facilitating the event.

Andrew Butler
COACH

SECONDARY INTERHOUSE CROSS COUNTRY CARNIVAL

On Monday, 27th of March, the secondary students of Columba Catholic College participated in the annual Inter-House Cross Country Event held at the Charters Towers Airport Reserve. The event was a huge success with students displaying excellent sportsmanship and athleticism.

All students ran with all their might and gave it their best across the track. The cross country event is a traditional competition held annually at this school to encourage physical fitness, a sense of community, team spirit and healthy competition amongst the school's students.

The event was held at the Airport Reserve and had a challenging 3km, 4km and 6km track that tested the endurance and stamina of each participant. Students competed fiercely but at the same time, supported and cheered each other on.

The winning house for this year's Inter-House Cross Country Event was Rice House. The students of Rice House energetically set the pace right from the start and held the lead until the end with their very healthy participation numbers. As winners of the competition, Rice House were presented with the trophy by Mrs Turner. Congratulations must also go to our age champions and runners up.

We would like to thank all of the parents that attended the carnival to support our runners. We would also like to acknowledge and thank the hard work of our staff, including our facilities team who worked early in the morning to set up the track and other equipment.

Overall, it was a memorable day filled with laughter, excitement and adrenaline-fueled competition. Well done to all students who participated and a special congratulations to Rice House for emerging victorious. We look forward to next year's events.

Callan Newman
MIDDLE LEADER - SPORTS

PRIMARY INTERHOUSE CROSS COUNTRY CARNIVAL

Friday 31st March

Students from Prep - Year 6 will participate.  All students are to be dropped at the Mt Carmel Campus between 8.10am - 8.30am in their sports uniform with house shirt.  Students will then be bussed back to St Mary’s Campus at the conclusion of the carnival at approximately 11.00am.  There will be no tuckshop morning tea available on this day.  All students are to bring thier own morning tea and water bottles as they will be having morning tea at the Mt. Carmel Campus.  Big lunch will need to be ordered and paid for by Thursday 30th March.

PREP NEWS

Last Monday, the Prep class ventured to the Ag Vet Centre on the Mount Carmel Campus. In Science, students had been learning about their senses and how to use them to explore their natural world. What better way to put their senses to the test than to visit the Ag Centre?

To begin the day, the Preppies used their sense of taste and enjoyed their fruit break. They listened to the crows flying in the sky and they were very excited to hear the sheep making lots of noise. The students were lucky to see some cattle in the yards, which was also great for their sense of smell! Of course, the real excitement came when Miss Carter let the children touch the sheep. The students (and sheep) were very brave!

The Preppies were then introduced to the worm farm and were buzzing to hold a few slimy worms. We decided as a class that we were going to start saving our fruit break scraps and send them over to Miss Carter as food for the worms. The children then explored the vegetable garden and recognised some food they did or didn’t like. 

We finished our morning with another tasty treat under the trees before making our way back to St Mary’s. The students got busy creating a poster of all the exciting things they observed at the Ag Centre. They then presented these to their Year 5 and 6 Buddies. 

In their words, the Prep class had “the best day ever!”

Lara Burns and Brooke Stevenson
PREP TEACHERS

In this edition of SchoolTV - SOCIAL MEDIA & DIGITAL REPUTATION

Social media has become such an integral part of a teenager’s life. However, many miss out on some critical social skills with most communicating whilst looking at a screen instead of another person! Statistics show that 60% of 10-11 year olds are using at least one social media site, with the majority using age-restricted platforms. What kids do, post and say online is permanent and most are not mature enough to manage their own digital footprint. Friendships, relationships and even future job prospects are all put at risk.

In this edition of SchoolTV, parents will learn how to talk to their children about the inherent dangers of social media and how to educate their kids to be responsible users in the online world we live in.

We hope you take time to reflect on the information offered in this edition of SchoolTV and we always welcome your feedback. If you have any concerns about your child, please contact the Guidance Counsellor for further information or seek medical or professional help.

Here is the link to the Social Media & Digital Reputation edition of SchoolTV.

Aleesha Watson & Sarah Smith
GUIDANCE COUNSELLORS

RESIDENTIAL NEWS

Dear Residential Families,

There has been so much to celebrate in Term 1. Our new and returning students settled well into residential life and have contributed positively in many ways including volunteering and participating in all aspects of college life at Columba.  Next term our students will continue to engage in a range of curricular and extracurricular activities, including Anzac Day Celebrations, the Charters Towers Country Music Festival and National Boarding Week.

Last week our Residential staff participated in professional learning focused on Youth Mental Health First Aid led by Lee Town. Special thanks to Mrs Aleesha Watson, Mrs Michelle Burns and Mrs Caroline Jarmey for organising this professional development for our team. The staff learnt new strategies and skills to support our young people and we appreciate their commitment to the students in their care. 

Next week, Stage 1 of the renovation to Comerford Residence commences. Power Constructions will complete the scheduled works and I4 Architecture have been leading this project in partnership with the college. The focus of this stage is the renovation of the amenities block. This is an exciting time for our community and will provide you with regular updates and photographs along the way as this facility is transformed into a contemporary space for our students.

In Term 2, members of our Residential and Leadership team will also participate in a revised model of the Western Tour where we will be visiting a range of areas in cluster groups to ensure that we have more time to meet with current  and prospective families. Once this schedule is finalised we will communicate this to families. We also aim to participate in the State  ICPA conference in Julia Creek in June and the National ICPA Conference in Darwin in July. 

Our next Boarder Parent Council meeting will take place in the Edmund Rice room on Monday 24th April at 7.00pm. All parents and caregivers are invited to attend this meeting. A zoom link will be sent out prior to this meeting. We understand that there has been some complexities for some in attending the last meeting. Our Term 2 meeting aims to provide some opportunity to share feedback and for the Residential Team to provide an overview of some of the projects we have underway at the college. We look forward to engaging with you in this forum.

We say farewell to Mr Jason Buczynsky who completes his time as Acting Deputy Principal Pastoral and Residential at the end of the term. We thank Jason for his contribution to the college and wish him well as he returns to his family and community in Townsville.

Thank you for entrusting us with the gift of supporting your child at Columba. We hope you enjoy some well deserved family time and we look forward to working in partnership with you next term. 

Many blessings for a happy and holy Easter.

Melissa Turner
PRINCIPAL

THE DENTAL VAN

SCHOOL HOLIDAY LITERACY PROGRAM