Columba Catholic College - Charters Towers eNewsletter

A Message from the Principal

Dear Columba Families,

Sunday 8th August was the feast day of Saint Mary of the Cross Mackillop. Saint Mary Mackillop had a strong sense of purpose and direction and was determined to provide an educational model for the vulnerable, poor and underprivileged in Australia. As the founder of the Sisters of St Joseph, she inspired many through her wit, determination and spirit. Like the Sisters of Mercy, Sisters of the Good Samaritan and the Christian Brothers who all came to Charters Towers to educate our students through the mission of Jesus Christ, let us be reminded that Columba Catholic College is built on a strong history. Our foundation is christ-centred, mission and education focused; and reflects a community of service.

With these strong foundations, we must continue to focus on learning and community. Every day, every lesson and every act of service to others counts. As the first educators of your children, we want to work in partnership with you to develop the spiritual, academic, social and emotional capacities of your children to enable them to live a full and meaningful life and to be active contributors to the world in which they work and live. “A good school provides education for the whole person. And a good Catholic school, above this, should help its students to become saints.” Pope Benedict XVI. Our focus is their personal growth and like you, our staff are committed to the development of your child.

As I enter into my fourth week at Columba, I feel it is necessary to explain my current thinking as the new Principal of the College.

Developing a genuine understanding of the Columba context is my current focus. To gain this understanding I am listening, learning and focusing on building authentic relationships with all stakeholders: students, staff and families. To gain this clarity I am engaging in dialogue and asking questions to depth this understanding. I am also immersing myself in all aspects of school, boarding and community life.

My experience in senior leadership and particularly as a Principal, has guided my thinking and will continue to underpin my approach over the coming weeks and months. I have a responsibility to every student, staff member and family and I do not make big decisions lightly or in haste.

I have high expectations of myself and others and believe in consultation, consistency, collaboration, voice and accountability. I also believe that at the heart of our Catholic school is the mission of Jesus Christ. A presence that abounds all. Thank you for your wisdom and insights as I map my thinking and vision for the future in partnership with you all.

Special thanks: To all involved in the Charters Towers Secondary Interschool Athletics Carnival last week. Special thanks to Mr Jordan Marty and the team for their efforts in preparing and facilitating the day's events. I was impressed with the overall attitude and behaviour of our students and wish to thank the staff and families in attendance for their support. There were a number of high performing athletes on both the track and field and I congratulate them and the staff who support them. It is great however, to see the overall team effort and engagement of our students who make a difference in our community. I am loving the Columba spirit!

We also wish to thank Mr Graeme Brown for his contribution to the school and wish him all the best. Graeme has been on a short term contract with us since the start of the term.

Cybersafe Practices: The online world is an ever changing landscape. I strongly encourage families to continue to monitor and support our young people in the use of safe internet practices. There are several resources available via the Esafety Commission website and parents are encouraged to review this and consider implementing parental controls to manage what children are able to search and access. The website can be accessed from the link https://www.esafety.gov.au/parents.

In the coming weeks we invite new and existing families and community members to join us as we host the following events: A Taste of Boarding on Thursday 19th August, A Taste of Secondary and Under 8s Day on Friday 20th August and the Columba Catholic College Field Day on Sunday 22nd August. We look forward to meeting you and celebrating all that our community has to offer. A special reminder to those families seeking enrolment for their children in 2022, please contact the office or visit our website to secure your place.

All the best for the fortnight ahead.

Many blessings,

Melissa Turner
PRINCIPAL

From the Deputy Principal - Administration

Dear Parents and Caregivers,

As we head towards the middle of term, students are actively engaging in the many learning and extra-curricular opportunities on offer. As the Year 12’s prepare to complete their final assessments, Years 8, 9 and 10 students will be involved in subject selections this term.

YEAR 7‐10 ASSESSMENT DATE CALENDARS

Years 7‐10 Term 3 assessment dates are now available in the Year level assessment calendars in Compass. Please take the time to carefully look at when assessment drafts and final submissions are due as well as exam dates. Encourage students to record their assessment dates in their College diary. This will assist students to plan study time effectively and meet all deadlines. A reminder that all assessment is due on or before the due date.

WORK EXPERIENCE

During the final week of Term 2 all Year 10 students participated in work Experience. A few Year 12 students also completed work experience during the holidays. The college is grateful to local employers for providing the opportunity for students to gain valuable insights and skills in various areas of work. The Work Experience Program is timed to provide students with first hand experience in their chosen occupations prior to their SET planning and subject selection for their senior years. We received some excellent feedback from employers about student’s progress during this week. For some students it confirmed their selected careers while for other students the pathway was eliminated as a future possibility.

YEAR 8, 9 AND 10 SUBJECT SELECTIONS

This term, we commence the process of subject selections for Years 8, 9 and 10 students. For Year 8 students it is a time to choose subjects that may lead to a pathway in the future, while year nine students should be starting to narrow a future direction with their subject selection. Year ten students will undertake their subject selections and SET Plan interviews to map a pathway, whether that be ATAR, Vocational or fulltime work/apprenticeship. This is an exciting time for students as they select subjects for next year.

YEAR 10 SET PLAN INTERVIEWS

Year 10 SET Plan interviews will be conducted during Week 6 of this term (23-27 August). All Year 10 students and parents / caregivers are required to book a SET Plan interview with a member of College staff to plan and discuss pathways and subject choices as students move forward into Years 11 and 12. Parents will book SET Plan interviews in the Compass Portal.

YEAR 10 QTAC PRESENTATION

On Monday 2^nd August Year 10 students attended an ATAR presentation conducted by the Queensland Tertiary Admission Centre (QTAC) via Zoom. Topics covered during this presentation included:

eligibility requirements
subject prerequisites for university study
VET
ATAR calculation
scaling.

Students were provided with important information that will assist them in making informed future pathway decisions. Students have also been given a copy of the 2024 Year 10 Guide to Career Pathways and Tertiary Prerequisites.

MAS CAREERS

Recently all Year 10 students were interviewed by Cherene, a career advisor from MAS Careers, about their intended future pathway. Students were provided with information about pathways after school, labour market trends and school based apprenticeships and traineeships. A career action plan was developed for each student.

YEAR 12 TRIAL MOCK EXAMS

Year 12 students have just completed their final piece of internal assessment in General subjects. For some this represents 75% of their course and others 50%. Students in General subjects will now begin to focus on preparations for External Assessments. In Weeks 8 and 9 of this term, students will complete mock external assessments. Please note that the final exams will be held on Thursday 16^th September. Students can expect to have 2 exams timetabled each day. The Mock Assessment Block will prepare students well for the rigors of the actual external assessments and provide them with valuable feedback. Students will attend school as usual, coming out of class to undertake the assessments. Attendance until the end of term is important as students will have mock exams as well assessment items in applied and certificate courses to complete. Please take this into consideration when making travel arrangements at the end of the Term 3. An exam schedule will go out to students and parents in coming weeks.

YEAR 12 QTAC PRESENTATION

The Year Twelve Queensland Tertiary Admission Centre (QTAC) Presentation was held on Tuesday 3^rd August via Zoom. Students were presented with important information regarding their choices for next year.

During this presentation students were informed of:

how to apply through QTAC
entry requirements
ordering preferences
pathways
important dates and deadlines
responding to offers
EAS scheme and other adjustment factors
ATAR calculation and notification.

Please note that the QTAC and ATAR portals opened on the 3rd August. All students will need to register through QTAC to receive their Queensland ATAR on the 17^th December 2021. Any students needing further information on the information presented should see myself or Mrs Toomey.

2022 QTAC GUIDE

All year twelve students have been issued a copy of the 2022 QTAC Guide. The guide provides prospective applicants with information about tertiary courses and how to apply for each course. It also includes information about other courses and pathways (to further education) that don't necessarily require a "traditional" ATAR entry. The Guide is compiled by the Queensland Tertiary Admission Centre.

If you have any concerns throughout the term, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Maria Peck
DEPUTY PRINCIPAL - ADMINISTRATION

Meet our Staff

Name: Kinsey Toomey

Hometown: Charters Towers

Position held: Careers Officer

Favourite Foods: Sushi, macaroni and cheese

Hobbies: Singing, painting, reading

Year One News

The Year 1 students came back from their holidays with energy and enthusiasm for the term ahead. We were especially excited to welcome our new friend Maicey. These last few weeks have seen us jump straight back into our learning as we start to see the fruits of our labour in everything we do. We are going into the term a little taller and wiser!

These past few weeks we have commenced our Visual Arts unit which will culminate in our Year 1 Art Show at the end of the term. During this unit we will investigate the elements of art: line, colour, shape and texture and many famous artists including Van Gogh, Pete Cromer and Leonardo Davinci.

During Science we are learning about light sources, both natural and man-made. We love knowing that our shadows are formed when our body blocks out the sun, making a shadow in the shape of ourselves. During HASS we are exploring the concept of place and how places can be natural (e.g. mountains), managed (e.g. gardens) and constructed (units, houses). Technology lessons are proving a real hit as we learn how to gather data and make graphs on the Chromebooks. God bless Mrs Archer for helping us with this as we learn how to add titles, labels and highlight columns to represent the data that we collect about our favourite colours, sports and foods.

This term will have a break from official news (which we will do again in Term 4), but we will continue to speak to the class and share our writing from time to time. We continue to focus on our reading, writing and comprehension and ask that you continue to keep up the wonderful work at home as we plough through sight words and reading levels. Our Maths lessons will now be guided by our Early Years testing results, which identifies our strengths and areas we need to work on some more. Concepts we will focus on will include graphing, chance and data, addition and subtraction.

Thank you as always, our committed and supportive parents, who love and organise to help us to be the best little learners that we can be.

Marisa O'Connor
YEAR ONE TEACHER

Year Four News

Term 3 has seen a busy start to the term with plenty of work being covered in class and students learning new and exciting concepts across different subjects.

In English, the students have been learning how to write an information report using the correct structure and language features. They are about to begin the process of writing their own report about the Amazon in South America which we recently learnt about in HASS. Reading groups continue to happen 3 days a week and we thank Joan Cox and Jenny Stevenson for continuing to volunteer their assistance.

During Mathematics, the class has been focusing on the Statistics and Probability Strand of this subject. The students have done a number of chance experiments, surveys and analysed and drawn different graphs to represent data. The class is about to make a start to division sums with remainders.

Religion lessons have a strong focus on the Ten Commandments, Moses and how St Paul was converted from Saul to build a community of believers in God. The students have also been exploring the Bible to look at the letters of St Paul in the New Testament.

The class is learning about South America and Africa for the first unit of work this term in HASS. They will then learn about Sustainability and how we can care more for the environment.

In Science, we are exploring different types of rocks and looking at how weathering and erosion occurs. The students have been finding this quite interesting and related it to what they see at their own home.

During Health lessons, the students are learning how advertising plays a role in what we eat and the decisions we make in regards to food choices. HPE lessons continue each week with Mr De Waele.

In Technology, the class are currently becoming ‘coders’ as they learn how to code and manipulate objects on screen. The students are using the online website ‘Scratch’.

The Eisteddfod is around the corner and students are learning a class poem. Mrs Smith keeps reminding children about Book Week and there is plenty of chatter about possible costumes.

If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to come and see me.

Gerard Webber
YEAR FOUR TEACHER

St. Mary's Campus Awards

WEEK 1 - PLAYING FAIR WHEN PARTICIPATING IN SPORTS OR GAMES

Prep: Rylee Maltby Year 1: Hamish Webb Year 2: Fletcher Scholes Year 3: Lincoln Strahorn Year 4: Alexis Ranleigh Year 5: Michael Archer Year 6: Jack Snelling

WEEK 2 - BEING A HAPPY, KIND AND GENTLE FRIEND TO ALL AND FOR WORKING COOPERATIVELY WITH YOUR LEARNING PARTNERS

Prep: Charlie Barnes Year 1: Jaymee Gundersen Year 2: Cody Snelling Year 3: Elena Lindsay Year 4: Daniel Brandis Year 5: Will Scholes Year 6: Bella Casella

WEEK 3 - TAKING RESPONSIBILITY FOR MY OWN ACTIONS AND BEHAVIOURS

Prep: Blake Collier Year 1: Ada King Year 2: Domanic Gray Year 3: Clancy Hodgetts Year 4: Robert Sorrensen Year 5: Jed Kruger Year 6: Bobbi Jenkins

WEEK 4- STAYING ON TASK AND NOT GIVING UP

Prep: Dakodah Butler Year 1: Alexiis Mearns Year 2: Chayse Taylor Year 3: Isabel Webber Year 4: Alex Thomas Year 5: Alex Zhao Year 6: Ava Ramm

Mt. Carmel Campus - Notable Mentions

Congratulations to the following students who received certificates at Assembly on Tuesday 10th August.

Working Diligently During Semester One

Year 7: Dale Beatty, Sienna Fagan, Ethan Ford, Ella MacPherson, Grace Scholes, Chantel Wilson, Stacey Yeo

Year 8: Callum Bartschat, Nicholas Brown, Layla Ford, Grace Kuhl, Gracie Tincknell

Year 9: Holly Battle, Donney George, Madison Jesberg, Maddison Knuth, Sophia Lyons, Ananya Pujar, Grace Taylor

Year 10: Ava Godier, Josephine Muston, Isaac Neilson, Jessica Rose, Mea Telford, Hannah Wilson

Year 11: Hayley Zadow

Year 12: Naveah Ambrym, Salvin George, Olivia Stevenson

Academic – For Consistently Achieving High Results in Semester One

Year 7: Dale Beatty, Lawson Day, Dallas Douglas, Ethan Ford, Abby Hetherington, Jet Ives, Kai Lindsay, Ella MacPherson, Grace Scholes, Isla Scott, Sally Sproat, Jackson Walsh, Chantel Wilson, Stacey Yeo

Year 8: Zyanne Bartlett, Callum Bartschat, Jessica Braes-Polke, Charlotte Coggan, Mary-Grace Donnelly, Layla Ford, Brydee Jackson, Grace Kuhl, Mikayla Murray

Year 9: Holly Battle, Erin Day, Donney George, Maddison Knuth, Sophia Lyons, Ananya Pujar, Grace Taylor, Chelsea Turnbull, Clarice Young

Year 10: Ronald Denton, Angus Ford, Jed Fuller, Jolee Gallagher, Ava Godier, Ashelly Grant, Maya Ives, Josephine Muston, Isaac Neilson, Jessica Rose, Imogen Ruyg, Hannah Wilson

Year 11: Cassandra McIntosh, Hayley Zadow

Year 12: Kolby Amos, Elle Beare, Kieran Burns, Morgan Day, Lawsen Ford, Salvin George, Sebastian Sorce, Olivia Stevenson, Nikki Truong

CSPA Corner

On Monday afternoon it was wonderful to see so many turn up to help out with our first ever CSPA cook up. We made over 100 portions and the menu was varied. Thank you so much everyone for giving of your time. A huge thank you to Steph Murray for looking after the little ones so the Mums could cook. Not a small job. Thank you to Woolworths for their kind donation towards the cook up as well. You all make this community of ours a wonderful place to live, work and play. Thank you. If you were unable to come keep your eyes peeled we may make a habit out of this.

Fiona Murray
CSPA PRESIDENT

Cattle Club News - Charters Towers Show

Cattle Club students attended the Charters Towers Agricultural Show on July 26 and 27. A total of 28 students were involved in the event from Year 4 up to Year 11.

Before the show commenced there was a lot that was done behind the scenes in order to be prepared. Students helped to weigh and load the cattle prior to transporting to the Showgrounds. Once there, the cattle were yarded, fed and watered. Monday morning was an early start to the day. Students were grooming and preparing their animals in readiness for the first events of the day, the Led Steer, Heifer and Stud sections. Our cattle were presented well and were placed in each Led class entered. Then followed the Junior Handler’s Competition. Competition was fierce with large numbers of competitors in each section.

Later in the day, students competed in the Junior Judging sections in their respective age groups. Students participated well, coming away with trophies and ribbons for their efforts. Tuesday saw us participate in the Grand Parade which completed our Show Campaign. It was a hectic few days, however we all gained so much from the experience and can’t wait for next year.

Results of the show:

Led Steer:
- Under 280kgs: 3rd Ripper
- 281kgs - 380kgs: 1st Ripcurl, 2nd Steer 17852, 3rd Steer 19348
- 481kgs and over: 1st Liquorice, 2nd Whiskey, 3rd Chicco
Champion Led Steer - Liquorice
Led Heifer:
- Under 280kgs: Beauty
- 281kgs - 380kgs: 2nd Quinn, 3rd Queenie
- 381kgs - 480kgs: 1st Arrow, 2nd Maisy
Led Heifer - Stud
- 280kgs - 380kgs: 1st Quinta, 2nd Quiana
Champion Heifer - Quinta
Led Bull: 2nd Remembrance
Champion Led Exhibit - Liquorice, Brae Hunt
Young Paraders:
- 12yrs and under: 3rd Cheyenne Bridgeman
- 15yrs - 17yrs: 3rd Stephanie Murray
- 17yrs and under 21yrs:2nd Caitlin Cronin
Young Judges:
- 17yrs and under 21yrs:3rd Caitlin Cronin
- Encouragement award - Caitlin Cronin
- 15yrs - 17yrs: 1st Stephanie Murray
- 13yrs - 15yrs: 1st Brae Hunt, 2nd Mikayla Murray, Adam Brandis
Overall Judge - Brae Hunt
- 12yrs and under: 1st Bridie Jenkins, 2nd Aaron Murray
- Encouragement Award - Bobbi Jenkins
Team Judging
- 16yrs - 21yrs: 1st Stephanie Murray, Caitlin Cronin, Mikayla Murray
- 16yrs and under: 3rd Stevie - Lee Taylor, Charlotte Coggan, Grace Kuhl

Sonia Wood
CATTLE CLUB CO-ORDINATOR

Secondary Interschool Athletics Carnival

The Charters Towers Secondary Schools athletics carnival was hosted by All Souls Saint Gabriels this year. Over the two-day event Columba students were able to show their skill and athleticism across a number of events.

On Thursday afternoon a number of enthusiastic competitors walked down to O’Keefe oval to take part in the day one events. The starters gun sounded and the carnival was underway with the 13 years girls hurdling their way down the track. This was a successful event for Columba earning a number of first and seconds across the age groups. Following hurdles students moved off to a round of field events where Columba also tasted some success! Our middle-distance athletes had their opportunity to shine at the end of day one taking part in the 1500m race.

Day two began with a cool winters breeze pushing across the oval. Though this didn’t stop our 400m runners from taking to the track. As the day heated up, the competition grew fierce and all of our athletes battled it out. The Columba students were seen giving it their best in running, jumping and throwing events. In the end we weren’t able to chase down our rivals and finished second for the day (full points break down below). However, a number of individual students were able to take home their well-deserved accolades receiving either age champion or runner up for their respective divisions. Well done to all of our athletes on a successful carnival.

AGE CHAMPIONS AND RUNNERS UP
12 Years Girls	RUNNER-UP	Anastacia Johnson
13 Years Girls	AGE CHAMPION	Chantel Wilson
13 Years Boys	AGE CHAMPION	Blake Bryan
14 Years Boys	AGE CHAMPION	Jessica Braes-Polke
Open Years Girls	RUNNER-UP	Boesha Moore-Reid
Open Years Boys	AGE CHAMPION	Bailey Bliss
12 Years Boys Multi-class	AGE CHAMPION	Azariah Hunter
16 Years Girls Multi-class	AGE CHAMPION	Scarlet Pickering
16 Years Boys Multi-class	AGE CHAMPION	Blake Jackson
Open girls Multi-class	AGE CHAMPION	Jemima Neilson
Open Years Boys Multi-class	RUNNER-UP	Conner Smith

Taylor Trophy (Girls’ Relay)

Goften Cup Trophy (Boys’ Relay)

1. ASSG

2. CCC

3. BTC

4. CTSHS

1. ASSG

2. CCC

3. BTC

4. CTSHS

Aidan Scott Trophy (Girl’s Aggregate)

Alex Forbes Memorial Shield (Boys’ Aggregate)

Peter Crowe (Combined Aggregate Trophy)

1. ASSG 696

2. CCC 428

3. BTC 243

4. CTSHS 188

1. ASSG 644

2. CCC 449

3. BTC 359

4. CTSHS 87

1. ASSG 1340

2. CCC 877

3. BTC 602

4. CTSHS 275

Have you checked out the NEW Columba Careers website? You can view it here. This site is a work in progress, and content will continue to be populated over the coming weeks. This page is a great resource for all secondary school students, and will be particularly helpful for students in Grade 10 to 12 as well as their parents/guardians.

Click here to download the latest Careers Newsletter

Meet our Board

Name: Haydn Champion

Occupation/Position in the Community: Secondary Teacher and Year 11 and 12 Pastoral Leader

Connection with the College: I am a past student of the College, attending Columba from Prep to Year 12. I returned, as a teacher, 5 years after graduating.

What is your motivation to be a Board Member? I am very passionate about the College and want to have a role in its future. Being a teacher, I feel very strongly about the importance of taking the students' and teachers' voices to the board.

Residential News

Dear Parents, Caregivers, Staff and Students,

Last fortnight, as mentioned in the last edition of the Residential Newsletter, Mrs Turner (Principal) and myself had the pleasure of engaging in the College’s annual Western Tour. It was great to visit many schools and organisations fostering new relationships and partnerships. It was also good to catch up with many of our families and potential families over a meal or at one of the many schools we visited. Not only was this an opportunity to meet with families in their own surroundings but was a good avenue to discuss the many joys and challenges of their children living away from home. I am thankful for the feedback provided by all of our wonderful families.

The Boarders’ Long Weekend will occur over the weekend of 3 – 5 September. A gentle reminder for those students who are not attending the respective camps, that the residences will be closed from 8.00 am Friday 3 September through to 5.00 pm, Sunday 5 September. This year the girl boarders will be residing at the Big 4 Caravan Park, Airlie Beach and the boys will be staying at the Cairns Coconut Resort. I am sure that all the students attending are very much looking forward to attending their respective camps. Mrs Burns and Mrs Fuller are currently very busy finalising the details and itineraries of their camps. Permission slips have been sent out to all parents and need to be submitted by the due dates so that accurate numbers can be provided to the various service providers.

At the end of the year, it is the College’s intention to refurbish the Comerford Residence (Junior Boys). Initial discussions have taken place with possible formats on how the residence will look and feel. It is indeed a very exciting place to be at this very point in time. As more information comes to light, it will be shared with the College community.

This week at the secondary campus assembly, the Boarder Representative Council were presented with their badges. This was an idea canvassed by the Student Residential Leadership Team and is an example of student voice translating into action. They have been proactive and purposeful in their meetings and are doing a sterling job for their peers.

Regards

Dan Kyle
DEPUTY PRINCIPAL - PASTORAL/RESIDENTIAL