Columba Catholic College Newsletter Volume 26 No. 8 - 8 June 2023

A MESSAGE FROM THE PRINCIPAL

Dear Columba Families,

As we head into the final weeks of term there are many wonderful experiences to celebrate.

Last Sunday students in our community celebrated the sacraments of First Holy Communion and Confirmation. Special thanks to Mrs Leanne Brandis for her leadership in this space and for facilitating the weekly sessions. Thanks also to Bishop Timothy Harris, Father Emmanuel, and to our staff and families for supporting our students on their faith journey.

Reconciliation Week liturgies took place last week on both St Mary’s and Mt Carmel Campus. Thanks to Mrs Donna Maxsted, Mrs Joanne Andrews, Ms Christine O’Sullivan, Mrs Natalie Grant and all staff involved in organising events and activities across the week. It was great to see family and community members joining our staff and students to acknowledge and celebrate these significant days in our calendar.

Last weekend our Cattle Club students engaged in the Northern Beef Producers Expo. The students performed well as a group and we appreciate the time and effort of Ms Sonia Wood and our families who continue to provide these opportunities for our students. We wish them well as they head off to compete at the Winton Show this weekend.

Thanks to Mrs Michelle Burns, Mrs Caroline Jarmey and our residential staff for organising a trip to Queensland Country Bank Stadium last weekend. The students had a great time watching the Storm vs Cowboys game. A good win by the Cowboys was an added bonus!

On Tuesday, we hosted our Year 11 2024 Parent and Subject Selection Information Evening. Special thanks to Mrs Maria Peck for her organisation of this event and to the many senior staff, Year 10 students and their families who attended. This is an important time for our Year 10 students as they begin to map their pathways for future learning and training.

On Wednesday, Columba hosted the finals of the Inaugural Townsville Blackhawks Schoolboys Trophy. Our Firsts Rugby League team played a fantastic game with a convincing 48-6 win over local competitions All Souls St Gabriel’s school . Congratulations to captain Assariah Lenoy who was also named player of the match. Thanks also to Mr Rohan Dixon, Mr Gerard Webber and the coaching and support staff for their ongoing commitment to our students. Thanks also to Mr Jaymi Evans and our students and staff for hosting such a wonderful event. Thank you to our families and community members for their support.

Staffing Update:

Next week we say farewell to our Accounts/Payroll Officer Ms Glenys Collins. Glenys is relocating back to Victoria with her family. We would like to thank Glenys for her contribution to our community and wish her all the very best for the future.

We would also like to thank Mrs Carmen Labuschagne for her contribution to Columba over the last few years. Carmen is taking a break from full-time teaching and we wish her all the best for her journey ahead.

This Friday we celebrate Founders’ Day. It is a great day to celebrate all that is wonderful about the people in our community. We will also acknowledge 25 years of Columba and 150 Years of Catholic Education in the Diocese of Townsville. As a part of celebrations we will host a Liturgy, Columba’s Got Talent, the Colour Fun Run and a range of games and activities for our students. All families are welcome. Founders’ Day is an important time for us to reflect on our story and the role that St Columba, Blessed Edmund Rice, Catherine McAuley and Archbishop John Bede Polding all played in living the message of Jesus Christ. These Founders are our inspiration, our models and guides.  ‘You are the  light to the world” Matthew 5:14

We look forward to seeing you there.

All the best for the fortnight ahead.

Many blessings,

Melissa Turner
PRINCIPAL

FROM THE DEPUTY PRINCIPAL - PASTORAL/RESIDENTIAL

Dear Parents and Caregivers,

As we are in the Flu season, it can be expected that an increasing number of students and staff will contract the flu. As per our College’s expectations regarding keeping our community as safe as possible, we ask that students and staff who display symptoms stay home. I encourage parents and caregivers to have their child/ren administered the flu vaccine if they have not already done so.

UNIFORM DAYS

I would like to now draw your attention to the College Uniform Procedure, and I have included the uniforms required to be worn each day as shown in the table below. Please note: 

PLEASE NOTE - THE TRACK SUIT/SPORTS JACKET IS NOT PART OF THE DAY UNIFORM

I also refer to several excerpts from the College handbook in reference to the College uniform:

• 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.
• Boys must maintain a clean shaven face each school day.
• 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.

It is not optional for students to digress from the uniform policy unless there is a valid reason. If a student is in the incorrect uniform, then the Pastoral Care teacher must be informed the same morning. Three uniform infringements issued across one term will result in the offending student being issued with a Thursday after school detention. Please note that this comes from a good place as the College has a standard that needs to be adhered to.

Clare Stead
ACTING DEPUTY PRINCIPAL - PASTORAL/RESIDENTIAL

PREP NEWS

As little learners, the Prep students have been discovering how sometimes they can feel big emotions. Throughout Health, they have explored a range of human emotions to allow them to understand not only how they feel, but also how others are feeling. This connection was created through following the Zones of Regulation, which classifies emotions into four colours - green, blue, yellow and red. In following this approach, students become aware of their emotions and their body’s response to different situations, and become equipped with strategies to self-regulate. 

The green zone is the one Prep students aim for, as they are feeling great, in control, and ready to learn. Within this zone, students can be feeling happy, relaxed, confident and/or loved. Students explored their own superhero qualities, which focused on recognising their strengths. We acknowledged that it is not realistic to be sitting in the green zone at all times and therefore, students explored ways to support them to return here when overwhelmed with other emotions. 

When reaching the blue zone, students can be moving slowly as they feel sad, tired, bored and/or sick. These feelings require strategies to ‘cool down’ before emotions continue to climb. Students explored how they best cool down and created an ice cream displaying these strategies, which they can now utilise everyday.

At times, students start to lose control as they feel over-excited, silly, worried and/or frustrated. Worry is an emotion we often see in our little ones, as they are still transitioning and experiencing so many new things. We began by exploring how this emotion makes our body feel and the signs it sends us. To do this, students looked at a ‘worry bug’, which helped them to understand things that bug us and things that do not. Similarly, this connects with things that are in our control and things that are out of our control. 

We all know red signifies to stop. This zone means that we have lost control of our emotions and we may be feeling angry, terrified, devastated and/or aggressive. Students created anger monsters to represent how they feel when they have lost control. Once recognising how their body feels, they created a toolkit of strategies that they can use to support their transition back to the green zone. These strategies included taking a walk, counting to 10, asking for help, going to a safe spot, drawing a picture, and deep breathing. To support deep breathing, students created superhero masks, which allows them to trace around their mask breathing in for 3, and out for 3. We understand that we can all feel these emotions at any time, so we love seeing our students using these strategies regularly in our classroom environments. 

Like all superheroes, we are brave, we are strong and we are problem solvers in Prep!

Lara Burns & Brooke Stevenson
PREP TEACHERS

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YEAR 6 NEWS

With only 2 weeks to go until the end of Term 2, let’s recap how busy Year 6 has been this term. 

Term 2 began with ANZAC Day and the Country Music Festival. The class did themselves proud during the Dawn Service and march up Gill Street. The class performed the Nut Bush for their country music act as part of the St Mary’s campus celebrations for the Country Music Festival. 

In English, the students have been learning how to write narratives using the correct structure and language features. Students have been learning skills to engage the reader’s attention and how to build suspense or humour into their stories. We have been reading and comprehending different Morris Gleitman novels to help us with our narrative writing. 

During Mathematics, the class has been learning about fractions, decimals, percentage, angles and how to use a protractor. The class also continued to focus on their tables and division facts. I have certainly been impressed with how well the class has grasped these concepts.

Religion lessons had a large focus on the ‘Our Father’ prayer and the scripture behind each line on this common prayer. For assessment, the students rewrote their own version of this prayer which they did well.

 As we get ready to go to Parliament House in September, when we embark on school camp to Canberra, the class covered the Federal Government in HASS. Although it is a difficult topic for younger students, they were engaged and keen to understand how our Federal Government operates.

In Science, we explored the Chemical Sciences strand. In particular, we looked at reversible and irreversible changes and how physical and chemical changes are different.

The class have started their preparations for the Interhouse Athletics Carnival by training on a Monday afternoon with Mrs Muller. Students have certainly enjoyed these sessions and look forward to the Interhouse Athletics Carnival on the final day of Term 2. 

Year 6 have enjoyed Friday afternoons this term as they competed in Inter School Touch. The boys had a tough season but improved every week and narrowly lost 2-nil to the eventual premiers in their final game. The girls had a terrific season and went undefeated. Unfortunately, they missed out on the shield on for and against. They are certainly looking forward to netball and soccer as interschool sports next term. 

With so much work covered this term and sports happening, the class have certainly earnt the upcoming holiday break. 

Gerard Webber
YEAR SIX TEACHER

INCLUSIVE EDUCATION NEWS

Nationally Consistent Collection of Data on School Students with Disability (NCCD)

Every year, all schools in Australia participate in the Nationally Consistent Collection of Data on School Students with Disability (NCCD). The NCCD process requires schools to identify information already available in the school about supports provided to students with disability. These relate to legislative requirements under the Disability Discrimination Act 1992 and the Disability Standards for Education 2005

What is the NCCD?

Under the Disability Discrimination Act 1992  (DDA) and the Disability Standards for Education 2005  (the Standards), Australian students with disability must be able to access and participate in education on the same basis as their peers. To ensure this, students with disability may receive adjustments to access education, based on the professional judgement of teachers, in consultation with the student and/or their parents, guardians or carers.

The Nationally Consistent Collection of Data on School Students with Disability (NCCD) gives Australian schools, parents, guardians and carers, education authorities and the community information about the number of students with disability in schools and the adjustments they receive. The Australian Education Regulation 2013 requires all schools to report the data collected for the NCCD to the Australian Government on an annual basis.

What is the purpose of the NCCD?

The NCCD collects data about school students with disability who are receiving adjustments across Australia in a consistent, reliable and systematic way. It enables schools, education authorities and governments to better understand the needs of students with disability and how they can be best supported at school.

How does the NCCD assist schools?

The NCCD prompts schools to identify students with disability and to review their processes and practices. It records the adjustments already undertaken in schools to support students with disability to access and participate in education on the same basis as their peers.

• Reviewing learning and support systems: The NCCD allows schools to better understand the functional needs of their students with disability. It captures the work of schools in providing personalised learning and support for students with disability who require adjustments due to the functional impact of their disability.
• Providing greater understanding: The NCCD helps schools gain a greater understanding of their students with disability and identify areas of need for both students and staff.
• Developing professional judgement: The professional learning available to support the NCCD process helps build the professional judgement of school teams who are required to provide educational adjustments for students with disability without relying on a medical or clinical diagnosis alone.
• Recognising support and adjustments provided: The NCCD helps to formally and consistently recognise the support and adjustments provided to students with disability as defined in the DDA.

Kimberlee Lynch
INCLUSIVE EDUCATION LEADER

CAREERS/VET NEWS

IN THIS EDITION OF SCHOOLTV - RAISING BOYS

Many parents will attest to the fact that most boys are active, loud, rambunctious and prone to rough play, but this should not affect how a parent acts towards their son. Be careful not to pigeon-hole your son into sex-specific behaviours or gender roles. The male brain is distinctly different in its development. A boy’s physical maturity is often at odds with his mental and brain development.

Societal beliefs about how to raise boys can sometimes influence their adult carers. Although we are not determined by our biology, it is a factor. It is important to support boys in their natural tendencies and nurture their strengths and abilities. Teach them the skills they need for their future and to develop a healthy identity. It is important for boys to have a role model they can connect with and acknowledge who they are. One of the most important determinants for a boy’s development is how secure they feel growing up.

In this edition of SchoolTV, adult carers will gain a better understanding into some of the more complex issues relating to raising boys.

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 Raising Boys edition of SchoolTV.

Aleesha Watson & Sarah Smith
GUIDANCE COUNSELLORS

RESIDENTIAL NEWS

Dear Residential Families,

The last two weeks have been a little quiet in our dormitories although our students did enjoy a Queensland win on origin night, and again at the Cowboys v Storm match last Sunday which some of our boarders were lucky enough to watch in person.

We are now at the busy end of the term in terms of assessment and so time management is key for academic success. There are no shortcuts to achieving this and every effort needs to be made to realise our academic goals. For those students who may be struggling to meet their deadlines, Homework Club and Assessment Support are two opportunities offered by the College where students can access help with their work on the Mount Carmel Campus after school. 

Most families are in the process of finalising their child/ren’s end of term travel arrangements. Please ensure that when your child is travelling home that they follow these travel safety tips: 

• Students having a fully charged mobile phone with a list of emergency contact numbers
• Students having adequate funds on their person and in their bank accounts  
• Educating your child about Stranger Danger and
• Keeping the College informed of your child/ren’s movements before and during transit. This is particularly important when students have to catch interconnecting buses, trains and or flights.

Clare Stead
ACTING DEPUTY PRINCIPAL - PASTORAL/RESIDENTIAL

SECONDARY INTERSCHOOL FORMAL

FLEXISCHOOLS