16 October 2017

Newsletter Articles

Principal’s Message:

By Mr Kort Goodman - Principal

Congratulations and a reminder that we have not finished, Yet!

Congratulations to our students and their families on the way that the students have presented themselves at the beginning of term four. We had a very small number of students return to school with hair, make up, nails or jewellery that are outside the set guidelines but these students have rectified these issues. This is a great indication of the fact that our students and families continue to be proud of our College.

I would also like to congratulate the students who last Monday at assembly received either an Assumption College Unleashing Personal Potential Certificate, acknowledging the outstanding ratings they received in term 3 for their learning behaviours, or a 100% Attendance Certificate for term 3. Both of these groups of students are giving themselves the opportunity to succeed in achieving to the best of their ability by being at school, demonstrating commitment to and persistence with their learning. Well done students!

Finally, I would like to highlight that last Monday at assembly I spoke to the students about the fact that we have not finished the year yet. I explained that some of the reports from teachers over the first week concerned me, regarding student’s engagement in class and their manners. Our expectations of students remain the same as they were at the beginning of the year. The expectations regarding attendance, preparedness for class and the manner in which students interact with their peers and school staff were reinforced during this address. Moving forward we are looking forward to an excellent term 4 filled with lots of learning opportunities leading into our celebratory activities – but we have not finished, Yet!

Senior Verification & Consistency of Teacher Judgement Pupil Free Day

On the pupil free day yesterday, our staff were engaged in a wide range of professional development activities that will again improve the educational opportunities that our students are engaging in. As occurs each year we had a number of our senior teachers involved in Queensland Curriculum and Assessment Authority Verification Meetings, we had teachers at science and sport professional workshops and our school officers were at further professional development sessions. In addition to these professional development sessions, the teachers who remained at school engaged in conversations led by Miss Smeed analysing our NAPLAN data to identify the areas that we can target to improve the outcomes for students. I would like to thank our staff for their efforts and willingness to continue to be involved in professional learning that will benefit our students.

Student Leadership

Currently our Year 11 students are involved in the process of applying for 2018 Student Leadership Positions. In 2018, our four College leaders will again be provided with a portfolio for which they are responsible for promoting activities in and recognising the efforts of their peers. The four portfolios will include; Faith and Social Justice Leadership, Academic and Digital Technologies Leadership, Cultural Leadership and Sporting Leadership.

We will also continue to have two leaders for each house, who can support each other and the College Leaders. The House Leaders in 2018 will be more involved in working with the College Leaders to organise inter-house and inter-pastoral class activities linked to the portfolios. We wish all of the students who are applying for positions of leadership the best and we pray that they may follow the words outlined in our leadership prayer.

A LEADER’S PRAYER

Leadership is hard to define.
Lord, let us be the ones to define it with justice.
Leadership is like a handful of water.
Lord, let us be the people to share it with those who thirst.
Leadership is not about watching and correcting.
Lord, let us remember it is about listening and connecting.
Leadership is not about telling people what to do.
Lord, let us find out what people want.
Leadership is less about the love of power and more about the power of love.
Lord, as we consider the role of a leader, let us be affirmed by the servant leadership of your son, Jesus.
Let us walk in the path He has set and let those who will, follow.
Let our greatest passion be compassion.
Our greatest strength love.
Our greatest victory the reward of peace.
In leading let us never fail to follow.
In loving let us never fail.
Amen

Have a lovely week

Kort

TERM 4 – 2017 DATE CLAIMERS

DATE CLAIMER

Pastoral Care News:

By Mr Craig Frattini, Deputy Principal

What parents need to know about Snapchat’s new ‘Snap Map’ feature

If you’re a regular reader of Internet Safe Education, you probably already know a lot about Snapchat; the app that allows users to share ‘self-destructing’ photos or videos with their friends. The fact photos delete themselves up to 10 seconds after being viewed makes Snapchat a popular platform for ‘sexting’ – but that’s another story.

Snapchat is free to use, and one of the top five social media platforms most used by kids. With over 150 million daily users, a huge portion of young people already have accounts and are sharing photos with their friends. So if you aren’t already aware of Snapchat’s latest feature ‘Snap Map’, you’re going to want to read on.

What is ‘Snap Map’?

‘Snap Map’ is a new GPS-based feature that allows users to share, search and view publicly submitted photos and videos based on their location. While Snapchat have gone to some lengths to ensure a user’s privacy isn’t breached, you’ll still need to ensure any children in your care understand the inherent dangers of sharing their location over the internet, and preferably have the feature turned off.

Snapchat’s Snap Map pins a user’s name alongside a caricature of the user (called an ‘ActionMoji’) to the map based on their current location. Unlike other social media platforms such as Facebook who show your location only when decide to share it, Snapchat constantly updates your location every time you open the app. This means active users are effectively broadcasting their location to the world in real time.

Sharing your location online at all is generally unwise – especially for younger users. Sharing it in real time is outright insanity. If someone was to monitor the activity of a child, they would be able to quickly ascertain their home address, school, and route to and from each. I don’t need to explain why this is a terrifying prospect.

Even older Snapchat users should be very careful with this feature. Even if you aren’t as vulnerable and don’t mind as much about strangers knowing where you are – it’s worth considering that Snap Map also shows strangers where you aren’t. Criminals can see when you’re not home.

What can you do to keep your location off Snapchat?

Luckily, it’s not too difficult to change your Snap Map privacy settings to tailor exactly who sees your location.

Once you’ve open the feature for the first time, Snapchat will prompt you to select who you’d like to share your location with. You have three options;

• My friends: This shares your location with all the Snapchat users you’ve added as friends. Keep in mind that anyone can send Snapchat users a request to be ‘friends’ on Snapchat.
• A select group of friends: You can choose a select group of friends to share your location with. Filtering to share your location only with verified real-world friends gives users a little extra protection, but is still not nearly as safe as the third option…
• Ghost mode: ‘Ghost Mode’ stops Snapchat from sharing your location with anyone. We strongly recommend any younger users keep their accounts in Ghost Mode at all times. It is by far the safest option – and still allows you to use all the rest of the functionality of the app.

You can turn ‘Ghost Mode’ on and off quite easily, so it’s important you properly explain the dangers of sharing your location with any children in your care so they don’t turn it back on again when you’re not looking.

For more information on Snap Maps, we recommend taking a look at Thinkuknow’s comprehensive Parents’ and carers’ guide to Snapchat. It’s worth knowing it’s also possible to submit an account deletion request to Snapchat on behalf of a minor if you are their legal guardian.

APRE News:

By Mrs Kate Cullen, APRE

Yr 10 Retreat

A letter was prepared to go home with the fees for this retreat on the 20th of October- Friday of Week 3. If you have medical/dietary information that staff will need to help organise this day, knowing that lunches are provided for the group, make sure you return the form at the base of the letter to help our preparations.

Students have been asked to wear their sports uniform on the day as many of the icebreaker activities are better suited to this uniform. Any questions please contact the College.

Yr 12 So Long Farewell Retreat- 13th – 15th of November

Please return your forms. Emails have been sent to students reminding them on several occasions to return their forms, sometimes with the form attached.

Yr 12 Graduation Mass – Friday the 17th of November

A reminder for the families and friends of our Graduating Seniors that mass will begin at 9:30 at St Mary’s Church. We do invite families to sit in the front section of the Church opposite to and behind their students who will be sitting as a group on the day. We will need about 9 rows for the Seniors to sit on.

Socktober Crazy Sock Day for Catholic Missions

Students will be able to wear their sports uniform and crazy socks on Tuesday the 31st of October and make a gold coin donation to Catholic Missions.

Christmas Appeal

Last week on assembly, students launched the SVDP Christmas Appeal. Each year we work to make a difference for local families by creating Christmas Hampers. Pastoral Classes each have a clothesbasket to work to fill for their families.

Henri Nouwen Reflection: Sacrament of Unity

The Eucharist is the sacrament of unity. It makes us into one body. The apostle Paul writes: "As there is one loaf, so we, although there are many of us, are one single body, for we all share in the one loaf" (1 Corinthians 10:17).

The Eucharist is much more than a place where we celebrate our unity in Christ. The Eucharist creates this unity. By eating from the same bread and drinking from the same cup, we become the body of Christ present in the world. Just as Christ becomes really present to us in the breaking of the bread, we become really present to one another as brothers and sisters of Christ, members of the same body. Thus the Eucharist not only signifies unity but also creates it.

Curriculum News:

By Ms Jen Smeed,, Assistant Principal—Curriculum

Unleashing Personal Potential Awards

Last week at assembly the ‘Unleashing Personal Potential’ Awards were distributed to students in Years 7-11. These awards were presented to students who displayed outstanding learning behaviours – attitude, conduct and effort- from the term three progress reports. Congratulations to these students on their application to their studies in term three.

SET Plan Interviews

Last week Year Ten students attended their SET Plan interviews. This was a great opportunity for parents and students to meet with Mrs Ali Porter or myself to discuss future pathways and subject choices for senior school. I thank Mrs Ali Porter and Mrs Karen Upton for their work in organising these interviews.

Year 12 Exam Block

The final exam block for Year 12 students will run from Wednesday the 8th November to Friday the 10th November. Year 12 students will have normal classes up to and including Tuesday the 7th November. The exam block schedule will be released in the upcoming weeks.

Year 11 Exam Block and 7-10 Assessment Week

Year 11 exam block and the junior assessment week will run from Monday 20th November to Friday the 24th November. All students will need to be in attendance for these assessment periods. Year 11 students will have exam block privileges where they are able to attend school only at their scheduled exam times. The exam block schedule will be released in the upcoming weeks.

Assessment Calendars

The links to the Assessment Calendars will be distributed to students this week. The calendar is also available on the College website – curriculum – assessment calendar. Please remind you child to check this regularly and carefully.

On a final note, semester reports will be issued to all students at the end of this term. If you have recently changed address please ensure that the College office is aware of the change as semester reports will be mailed home in the week after the students finish for the year.

Careers News:

By Mrs Ali Porter, Careers

ASSUMPTION COLLEGE STUDENT PATHWAYS NEWS

Noteworthy items:

• Date claimer 31st of October: Graduation morning tea for Year 12 school-based apprentices and trainees, their parents and employers – RSVPs are due by the 17th of October
• Reminder that Year 12 students considering university in 2018 should have made their application through QTAC.

Year 10 SET Plans

A very big “thank you” to those parents who attended SET Plan meetings. We appreciate the time you have taken to discuss your child’s future career and academic goals. These meetings with students have been an invaluable opportunity to discuss senior subject choices and career pathways.

SBA Graduation Morning Tea

This is scheduled for 9.30am on the 31st of October. School-based trainees, apprentices and their parents and employers have been invited. We would appreciate it if all invitees could RSVP as soon as possible so that we can adequately prepare and cater for the event.

University of Southern Queensland Vice-Chancellor’s Scholarship

A scholarship will be awarded to the most outstanding applicant commencing full-time on-campus study in 2018 at each of the Toowoomba, Springfield and Ipswich campuses of USQ. The scholarship will have a maximum value of $12 000. Applications must be received by 5.00pm Friday 27th October.

Cotton Gap - Cotton Australia

The application period for 2018 opens shortly.

Cotton gap is for those who have just finished year 12 who are interested in either a long-term career in cotton or 12 months employment in the form of a ‘gap year’. Expressions of interest can be lodged with Angela Bradburn via email at AngelaB@cotton.org.au

Please visit www.acwcareers.com for more comprehensive careers and pathways information and news.

Business News:

By Mr Scott Clegg, Business Manager.

Uniform Shop Convenor Required

Assumption College Warwick (ACW) P & F is seeking a new volunteer clothing pool convenor/s to start in 2018. Days or hours are flexible. The clothing pool is currently operated by two ladies who share the hours and mornings of operation between them. Parents of the current SMW Year 6 students who have enrolled at ACW for Year 7 or parents who currently have children at ACW and are interested in undertaking this role in 2018 or would like more information can contact the ACW P & F through the school on 4660 4000 or Melinda Gale 0414 182 182.

General Notices:

Year 8 Camp Kokoda

The year 8’s or otherwise known as “survivors” gathered at Assumption College to disembark on the Kokoda Survival Camp on Tuesday 12th September. Rubbish bags full, hats and water bottles nearby, they were unaware of the excitement and challenges they were about to face. The bus trip was full of anticipation with the students asking a range of questions about what they were to experience on camp, only to be responded with WAS “Wait And See”. When we got to camp, students lugged their luxurious rubbish bags down a hill to repack their backpacks, ready to trek to their campsites and activities. The next 4 days were jam packed with high rope courses, flying fox, canoeing, the giant swing, abseiling and team building games. The excitement continued when tents flew away but the students rallied around to secure their own and other group’s tents. On the last night of survival, all four groups united, having a shared dinner. They conversed about their camp experiences and started to create life long memories that will be shared within the future. Needless to say, the bus trip on the way home was much more mellow as every bit of energy and excitement was used within their Camp Kokoda experience.

Attendance Awards

Congratulations to all students who received Attendance Awards at our recent assembly – well done!

Second Hand Uniforms Required

Assumption College uniform shop is in desperate need of some more second hand uniforms – currently uniforms can either be donated or left in the P&F Uniform Shop on a commission basis. If anyone has any uniforms which are no longer required these can be dropped into the office or into the Uniform Shop which is open on Tuesday Mornings between 8:15 - 8:45.

St Vincent de Paul Christmas Appeal

Christmas is a time for giving and considering others less fortunate than ourselves. The St Vincent de Paul Christmas Appeal provides support and assistance for families during, what is for many, a difficult time. Assumption College have a proud history of helping Vinnies collect hampers for families within our local community. This year is no different. Students are encouraged to bring in items appropriate for a hamper. Each PC is assigned a family to provide for; it is important to consider their ages and gender. Money donations are great as well and they will be used to; buy a laundry basket to make the hamper up and to purchase vouchers for fresh meat and veg. Through the generous support of the Assumption Community, the St Vincent de Paul Society will be able to offer people the opportunity to share in the joy of Christmas and give the gift of hope for a brighter 2018.

Rosary In The Park

Movie Night

Community News:

St Patricks Allora Fete

Historical Event – Warwick Egg Incident

A public history event called Dissent, Treason, Flying Eggs! is to be held at St Mary's Hall, 47 Wood St, Warwick 10.00am-12.30pm Saturday 18 November to commemorate the centenary of the Warwick Egg Incident (WEGGI). The event is part of a weekend of activities co-ordinated by Southern Downs Rail and Southern Downs Regional Council. The history event includes presentations by historians Rod and Robin Sullivan, The University of Qld, and Jeff Kildea, The University of NSW on the local and national story of the WEGGI from the perspective of Irish Australians. After Dalby, Warwick was the second most Irish town in Queensland in 1917! There is also to be a panel discussion/Q&A session with the historians who will be joined by Pat Ryan, oral historian, Killarney, and Greg Hallam, historian Qld Rail. The Combined Unions Choir, Brisbane will provide a musical contribution recognising the leadership role of the labor movement in the anti-conscription campaigns 1916 and 1917. The MC is Senator Claire Moore, a native of Toowoomba, who comes with a keen interest in the history of Irish Australia and the peace and women's movements. Morning tea will be provided. The event has been made possible by the support of Julia Keogh, President of the Chamber of Commerce, St Mary's Parish, O'Mahony's Hotel, QCWA and the Warwick Historical Society. Tickets $15 general admission, $6 unwaged. To secure a seat book ASAP online below. If you need further information contact Julie Conway, Assumption College former student 0418 989 490. Come and join us make sense of the WEGGI 100 years on!

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