Columba Catholic College Newsletter Volume 26 No. 16 - 9 November

A MESSAGE FROM THE PRINCIPAL

Dear Columba Families,

The term has certainly been eventful and our students have been involved in a range of academic, sporting and cultural activities across the last couple of weeks. I give thanks to our staff and families for supporting them in their endeavours.

Special thanks to Mrs Fiona Murray and members of our CSPA for hosting our Melbourne Cup Luncheon. We are grateful for the support and sponsorship of members of the committee and wider community. Special thanks to Tonya Burgoine, Cecilia Louk and our Hospitality students for catering. There were many students involved across the day assisting with music performances, service delivery and the fashion parade. We are very proud of the way the students represented the College and thankful to members of our community for their patronage.

Last Friday we hosted our last Prep Come and Try Day for 2024. Special thanks to Lara Burns, Brooke Stevenson, Donna Maxsted and Joanne Andrews for their support. We have a wonderful group of new learners ready to commence school in 2024. Thanks to our new Prep families for their attendance.

With continued enrolment growth across the college, I wish to advise that there are waiting lists for several Primary Classes and for several Year levels in Boarding for 2024. I strongly encourage all families wishing to enrol students for 2024 to submit applications as soon as possible. If you have not yet contacted the College, please do so as soon as possible. Thanks in advance for your support. Class arrangements for next year 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. A reminder that departing families are required to give one term’s notice as per our enrolment and fee policy.

Last week our Year 7 students attended their annual Camp. Thanks to Madeleine Carter, Callan Newman, Jessie Huen, Andrew Butler and Jordan Moy for their leadership. The feedback from students and staff has been really positive. Thanks for providing this experience for our students. We appreciate all you do.

The final external examinations for Year 12s were completed this week. We extend a very special thank you to Maria Peck for her organisation of these examinations, and to Clare Stead and Colleen Young for their support in supervising students across the examination period. We wish all of our Year 12 students the very best as they head off to Townsville for their Big Day Out  tomorrow and for Week 7 as they move into the final week of formal schooling here at Columba. We look forward to celebrating this with them next week.

Today our Emerging Leaders engaged in their Awards Celebration Ceremony hosted on Mt Carmel Campus. Congratulations to our students, Mentors and to Lorette Tassan and Jessie Huen for their organisation of the event for our students and families. Tonight, our Emerging Leaders who reached their goals, are heading off to the Drive-In for a Rewards evening to celebrate their achievements for 2023.

Tomorrow Columba will host the Primary Interschool Swimming Carnival at the Charters Towers Memorial Pool. We wish our staff and the competing students all the best for a great day.

Our 2023 Secondary Awards Night will be held next Tuesday 14 November at 6.30pm at the World Theatre. This is an important time for us to celebrate the academic, cultural, sporting and service achievements of our students. We look forward to seeing you there.

This Saturday is Remembrance Day. A time to stop, reflect and remember those service men and women who gave their life so that we can enjoy the freedoms we do today. Let us continue to pray for peace and unity in our world, and for the spirits of those who loved us, just like Jesus did, and made the ultimate sacrifice for us. Lest We Forget.

All the best for the fortnight ahead.

Many blessings,

Melissa Turner
PRINCIPAL

FROM THE APRE - SM CAMPUS

October has been a busy month in the religious life of the school.  Traditionally, October is the month of the Rosary and students have been engaged in praying this meditative prayer in the Catholic tradition.  The Rosary is an important devotion that honours Mary, while focusing on the events in the life of Jesus Christ.  The Rosary is a sequence of prayers which St John Paul II said, is “a compendious of the Gospel and it’s intended to help us grow in our faith as we come to understand more and more about the life, the death, the Resurrection and the Ascension of Jesus Christ, and about the Church and who we are in the Lord.”

That’s why the way to view the Rosary is as a time of meditation.  We meditate on the great mysteries of our faith.

October is also Mission Month.  As a school community, we have been participating in the Socktober Challenge to raise funds to support the Missions in Timor-Leste. The theme this year is: Hearts on Fire.  Feet on the Move. The students have learnt a little about the lives of people in Timor-Leste, as well as learning to understand the issues of social justice and mission which they have been helping to address through their fundraising efforts.  The students held a Crazy Sock Day, a bake sale, donated their loose change and participated in soccer matches to raise funds and awareness.

Donna Maxsted
ASSISTANT TO THE PRINCIPAL - RELIGIOUS EDUCATION - SM CAMPUS

AWARDS CELEBRATIONS 2023

CURRICULUM NEWS

YEAR 12 EXTERNAL ASSESSMENTS

Congratulations to all Year 12 students who have completed their final External Assessments. Columba students sat their last External Assessments on Wednesday 8^th November. Thank you to Year 12 teachers who held additional tutorials to assist and support students in their preparations during the External Assessment period.

YEAR 12 RELEASE OF RESULTS

The QCAA will release final student results and Senior Education Profiles (SEPs) at 9:00am on the 15^th December, 2023 from their Learning Account in the Student Portal via the MyQCE website at myqce.qcaa.edu.qld.au. Students will require their Learner Unique Identifier (LUI) to access their results. All students are required to access their results in their Learning Account. Students should check that they can access their Learning Account now.

Senior Education Profiles (SEPs) are issued as electronic documents  and stored in students’ learning accounts. Students can save their Senior Education Profile on a computer or mobile device and provide it to third parties electronically, or they can download it as a secure PDF and print it.

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 the 15^th December 2023.

ATARs

ATARs will be available via the Queensland Tertiary Admissions Centre (QTAC) at www.qtac.edu.au/atar on Friday 15th December 2023. Students must sign up to QTAC’s ATAR Portal to access their ATAR and need to use their own name (as shown in their QCAA account), date of birth, LUI and email address. All ATAR students are strongly encouraged to share their ATAR with the College. If your child has not registered yet to receive their ATAR, please encourage them to do so immediately.

All Year 12 students need to ensure they have access to their LUI number to access their results.

ALL YEAR 12 STUDENTS: RETURN TO CAMPUS 10^th NOVEMBER – 17^TH NOVEMBER

All Year 12 students are to return to school on Friday 10^th November 2023 for the Year 12 Big Day Out. All students are required to attend school during Week 7 (13^th – 17^th November 2023) as they will be involved in several important planned events during this week such as preparations for Awards Night and Graduation, Awards Night (14^th November), The Love Bites Program, Farewell Assembly, Graduation Liturgy and Graduation Dinner.

AWARDS NIGHT ARRANGEMENTS

On Tuesday 14^th November 2023, the College will host its annual Awards Night evening for Years 7-12 students at the World Theatre, Mosman Street, commencing at 6:30pm. All students and parents / caregivers are invited to attend this evening. We will be celebrating the academic, sporting, cultural and service achievements of Columba Catholic College students during 2023.

Year 7-12 students are required to arrive at the World Theatre at 6.00pm. At 6.10pm invited guests, parents / caregivers and students will be able to take their seats in the auditorium.

At the end of the evening students are to be collected by Parents / Caregivers from the foyer of the World Theatre.

Year 7-12 students are required to wear their formal uniform to the Awards evening. Year 12 students are required to wear a blazer.

STUDENT REHEARSALS FOR AWARDS NIGHT
In preparation for the Awards evening, on Monday 13^th November 2023, students receiving awards and/or participating in the evening will be rehearsing at various times during the school day (9:00am-3:00pm) at the World Theatre. Students will be bussed to and from the World Theatre by College bus and supervised by the College staff.

YEARS 7-10 ASSESSMENT

During Week 7, Years 7-10 students will complete several assessments as indicated on the Assessment Calendars in Compass.  All assessment is to be submitted on or before the due date. Exams are to be completed on the date indicated on the assessment calendar / exam schedule. If students are absent for a valid reason when an exam is scheduled (for example they are sick or other unforeseen reasons), then the AARA / Extension Form available from the office would need to be completed with appropriate documentation attached (for example a doctor’s certificate) for consideration. This completed form and documentation needs to be submitted to the subject teacher.

 2024 NAPLAN TESTS

In 2024 NAPLAN Tests will be held during Term 1 from Wednesday 13^th March to Monday 25^th March. All eligible students in Years 3,5,7 and 9 are expected to participate in the NAPLAN Tests. Adjustments are permitted for students with disability to support their access to the tests and facilitate maximum participation.

Parents and students can access demonstration tests on the ACARA Public Demonstration Site here. This site is available as a familiarisation tool for students to see a range of questions types, onscreen tools, timers and interactive navigation.

Maria Peck 
DEPUTY PRINCIPAL - ADMINISTRATION

HUMANITIES AND SOCIAL SCIENCES DEPARTMENT

Inflation hitting hard, interest rates still on the rise!

This term, our Year 7 to 10 students are all studying Economics and Business: Year 7s are learning about ‘entrepreneurship’; Year 8 ‘product reviews’ ; Year 9s and 10s ‘international trades’ and ‘inflation’. 

The Year 9/10 E&B students explore the theory of international trade in the area of economics and get to understand the benefit of trade for different countries. The relevant knowledge will pave the way for them to pursue their study in Business in down the path, as they will continue on to look into the various factors affecting the possibility of international trade in reality, such as political factors and foreign diplomatic relations.  

The Year 7 and 8 Economics and Business curriculum lays the foundation for students to choose Economics and/or Business as senior subjects for Year 11 and 12. The Humanities Department is anticipating more students to get on board with Economic and Business for 2024!   

Languages Department

Welcome Chinese students to Charters Towers!

In Term 3, between 17th and 22nd of August, our College hosted eight Chinese students from the city of Jinan in China. This marked the beginning of all the possible international exchange opportunities for our College community. The overall feedback of the Chinese students’ one-week stay was overwhelmingly positive. While the Chinese students have had a glimpse of what rural Australia looks like and an exposure of studying at a Boarding school in this country. 

Our students buddied up with each of the Chinese students and provided English assistance across both St Mary’s and Mt Carmel. Our students still learning Chinese language and have benefited from the cultural exchange and other learning experiences through interacting with our Chinese visitors.

The bilateral relations between Australia and China have been in the spotlight in our national current news due to the recent visit and dialogue between our Prime Minister Albanese and President Xi Jinping of China. President Xi has commented about the trade relationship between the two countries as having ‘embarked on the right path of improvement’ (Guardian, 2023).  

China is Australia’s largest two-way trading partner in goods and services, in particular with our Australian education and training industry. Australian school education has a growing presence in China, from local to state government engagements.

The increased number of Chinese students studying in Australia reflects a global trend of more Chinese people traveling internationally for study. In 2017, UNESCO data indicates there were almost 850,000 Chinese international university students globally. Australia is the second-most popular destination for Chinese students after the USA (UNESCO, 2017).

We are looking forward to the next exchange group next year in 2024! 

Michael Ku
MIDDLE LEADER - HUMANITIES AND SOCIAL SCIENCES

YEAR 5 NEWS

It is hard to believe we are over half way through Term 4! Year 5 has had a fabulous term so far as we were lucky enough to visit Gumburu Environmental Educational Centre in the rainforest of Paluma. We certainly learnt what we were made of when climbing the high poles and moving along the high ropes course at the Outer Limits facility. We blindfolded ourselves and trusted our classmates to lead us through a sensory trail with just our sense of touch and smell to guide us. On the first night we went on a walk to look for fluorescent fungi and on the next night we stood on the Bandicoot Bench as quietly as we could to watch the little critters of the night go about their business. We even had one little critter called an antichinus join us for dinner one evening, scampering around our feet.  We explored the creeks to look for wildlife in the water. We trekked through the rainforest trails of Paluma, not just learning about our surroundings, but learning about ourselves in the process. It was a fabulous adventure for all of us and a great opportunity to mix and mingle with classmates we wouldn’t usually engage with. 

We will certainly make every moment count in our remaining days in the classroom.

Jemma Webber
YEAR 5 TEACHER

RESIDENTIAL NEWS

It is great to be back! I have been away on extended leave for nearly 12 months. I certainly have missed everyone – students, staff, parents and members of the wider community. I look forward to catching up with as many people as possible before the end of the school year. 

Last weekend some of our Boarding students attended the Basketball Gala night at ASSG. From what I have been able to ascertain, a good night was had by all. The following night, our residential students (boys and girls) enjoyed a BBQ dinner together followed up with a game of touch football on Hempenstall Oval. The students and the staff enjoyed a great night together. 

This week our Seniors have been busy finalising their assessment commitments. Their time as students of this College is drawing to a close. I wish them all the best in attaining the results that they have strived for and deserve.

This coming Friday Senior students will be attending the Big Day Out in Townsville where they will engage in a range of activities including tenpin bowling, laser tag and paintball. I am sure the students are very much looking forward to this event.

Next Tuesday evening, commencing at 6.30 pm, is Awards Night. This is an important night to recognise and celebrate the achievements of our students. I hope to catch up with as many of our Boarding parents as possible at the event. Following on from Tuesday, Seniors will bid farewell to continuing students with a Final Assembly and Liturgy on the Mount Carmel Campus on Thursday morning. The Graduation ceremony will commence at 6.00 pm with a liturgy on the Mount Carmel campus followed up with the graduation dinner at the Arthur Titley Centre. The ladies will no doubt look very swish in their gowns and the men most dapper in their suits.

Junior residents still have approximately 3 weeks before the commencement of the Christmas holidays. I strongly encourage them to maintain a positive mindset and put their energies into their studies. As mentioned in years gone by, there are no shortcuts to success. Success demands effort and there is a strong correlation between the two. Growth mindsets, resilience and grit within our students will provide the platform for embracing life’s challenges and successes.

Dan Kyle
DEPUTY PRINCIPAL - PASTORAL/RESIDENTIAL

INTERSCHOOL 9S CARNIVAL FOR GIRLS

On Friday 27 October Columba hosted the Interschool 9s Carnival for girls.

Competition occurred in 2 age divisions: 15s and 17s.

Columba’s 15s team comprised: Evie Harrington, Ruby King, Mikayla Murray, Charlie Limpus, Tahlia Burns, Chantel Wilson, Chantelle Santo-Hero, Kayla Tanner Parker, Ella MacPherson, Jada Cafe and Ly’xali Bowen-Ludwick.

The 15s began a little slowly in their first game, however, they soon found their ‘mojo’ and played a very entertaining brand of football in their final 2 matches, culminating in a fine win against ASSG. Unfortunately, they did not qualify for the final which was contested by BTC and CTSHS, with BTC going out the winners. Special thanks to Chantelle Santo-Hero, Ella MacPherson, Jada Cafe and Ly’xali Bowen-Ludwick for filling in at the last minute.

The 17s team included: Bridget Wilson and Erin Day (co-captains), Zyanne Bartlett, Bridget Wosomo, Ashlyn Hoey, Matilda Peagham, Abbey Turner, Jess Braes-Polke, Shakira Fogarty, Zikiah Murgha-Miller, Kanika Pros, Taelah Morgan and Ananya Pujar.

The 17s division comprised ASSG, BTC and CCC, as CTSHS were unable to field a team. The competition was extremely tight and Columba managed 2 narrow wins in their pool games to progress to the final against BTC. In the final, scores were locked at halftime, however, Columba scored some wonderful second half tries to win 18-8. The Player of the Carnival for Columba was Bridget Wilson. 

Andrew Butler & Brett Murray
COACHES

IN THIS EDITION OF SCHOOLTV -HAPPINESS & GRATITUDE

Happiness is a term that captures a huge variety of positive emotions such as humour, serenity, optimism, joy, pride, inspiration, love and hope. Happiness means different things, to different people and is essential to your understanding of emotional literacy. Throughout history, philosophers, religious writers and poets have pondered on the meaning of happiness and how it might be achieved. In the last few decades, scientists and psychologists have researched this further by studying a field of science called positive psychology.

The result of this research suggests there is a strong correlation between gratitude and greater happiness. Practising gratitude helps you shift your focus to positive memories or experiences, noticing the good in your life. Over time, this will re-wire your brain to create new neural pathways, increase your state of happiness and overall wellbeing.

In this edition of SchoolTV, parents and care-givers will learn how to achieve happiness and the benefits of practising gratitude.

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 Happiness & Gratitude edition of SchoolTV.

Aleesha Watson
GUIDANCE COUNSELLOR

INFORMATION FOR SCHOOL LEAVERS - QPS RECRUITMENT