25 May 2018

Newsletter Articles

Principal’s Message:

By Mr Kort Goodman - Principal

Striving for our best academically – be good today – but better tomorrow.

In each room around the College there is a poster that highlights the expectations that all members of the College community are required to adhere to each and every day.

The expectation is that as an individual;

• I will ensure my behaviours and attitudes are respectful toward myself, other students, staff and property.
• I will place safe behaviours at the heart of all I do.
• I will come to the learning environment on time, prepared and ready to work.

Coming to the middle of Term Two, I am sure that all of the students would agree that the staff and leadership of the College have consistently reminded the students of the first two expectations numerous times per week. These first two expectations are about providing a safe environment that is conducive to learning.

The third of these expectations is about ensuring the staff and students have the tools required to participate in lessons, learn and achieve their best academically. This philosophy of striving to do our best academically is one of the aspects of participating in a holistic education and being the best we can be in all areas; something we also continue to preach to the students.

As I have previously stated in the newsletter, we highly value the importance of working together in partnership with parents / caregivers and we are hopeful that you can assist us by ensuring that the students are organised with the necessary resources for each day. Those resources being any textbooks required for the lesson, something to write with, something to write in and a fully charged and working IPad. We understand that some students need more constant reminding and assistance in order to be prepared, but if we take the small steps that Catherine McAuley wrote about, as outlined above, then hopefully our students can be better each day.

“The simplest and most practical lesson I know… is to resolve to be good today - but better tomorrow.

Let us take one day only in our hands - at a time, merely making a resolve for tomorrow.

Thus we may hope to get on – taking short careful steps, not great strides.”

(Catherine McAuley (Founder of the Sisters of Mercy) in a letter to Mary De Sales White, Feb 28, 1841)

Brett Lee Internet Safe Education

Yesterday Brett Lee, former Queensland Police Officer for 22 years, 16 of those as a Detective predominantly in the field of Child Exploitation conducted sessions with our Year 7 – 12 students, staff and parent groups. Brett presented to the students during the day and then ran a session for staff and parents after school. The four key messages that Brett passed on included;

1. The internet is a safe and valuable place.
2. Our children need to be part of that world.
3. As parents we already possess the skills.
4. We have to be part of that process.

We greatly appreciated Brett coming to our College and we are very confident that each of the students who attended the sessions gained some valuable information regarding using the internet.

Have a lovely week
Kort 

Term 2 - 2018 Date Claimers

TERM 3 – 2018 DATE CLAIMERS

Pastoral Care News:

By Mr Craig Frattini, Deputy Principal

Parenting Ideas Insights

Video Games: the good, the bad and getting the balance right
By Martine Oglethorpe

Video games tend to get a bad rap from parents and the media. There’s the fear of your child being locked away in their room for hours on end, inhabiting a virtual world that removes them from family, friends, school work and anything resembling reality. Then there is the fear of what someone might do following a session of first-person shooting, blowing up cars and taking out snipers with an AK47. Not to mention the seemingly wasted hours spent staring at a screen.

Without doubt there is some substance to some of the fears around gaming obsessions and violent behaviours. However, like many elements of the modern world, the negative impacts are often affecting only a very small minority and often these are in the extreme.

It is safe to say that many, many young people can play video games in a way that benefits their physical, social and emotional wellbeing. Like most things, when game playing is done with balance and perspective, it can actually be a most productive way for a young person to spend their time.

The benefits of video games

Cognitive and physical benefits. There are lots of great skills developed when playing video games. Analysing, thinking, problem solving, creating, team work and collaboration form the backbone of many games. Spatial awareness and hand–eye coordination skills, many of which can be transferred to the real world, are an added benefit. Many workplaces and training institutes use games to simulate real-world situations and the medical field is increasingly using forms of gaming to help with physical and neurological disorders.

Social and emotional benefits. Many kids who struggle to fit in at school, or don’t make the sports teams, often feel a real sense of belonging, connection and achievement when playing video games. For those who find it difficult to shine in mainstream environments, gaming can be a great way for them to boost their self-esteem and sense of identity in a space that offers comfort, connection and control.

Thinking outside the box. Many games encourage players to think outside the box, take risks and critically analyse a situation. There is a lot of trial-and-error required in many games and this helps to develop players’ persistence in problem solving tasks as they strive to get to the next level, the next world or create the next big city.

Stress release. There is certainly an element of stress release that many games provide for young people. After a long day at school it can be a welcome relief to immerse yourself in a game that allows you to switch off a little.

Keeping it under control

Of course these benefits won’t eliminate the concerns many parents have about game playing, especially of online games. So what are some things we can do as parents to help keep it under control?

Look at your individual child. Are they coming to the dinner table without a fight? Are they coming to the table without bringing their device? If they are struggling too much in any of these areas over a long period of time, it might be time to make some changes.

Come up with time limits together. Discuss together what you think is fair based on the need to ensure they are striking the right balance and have enough energy for their other pursuits. While your child is young, give them a warning ahead of when you want them stop so they have time to finish whatever they are creating or whatever level they are at in their game. This helps them to get better at regulating their time.

Play a game with your child. It is much easier to make rules and boundaries around something that you understand and that they know you understand. Play a game with your child to get a feel for what they enjoy about it, be witness to some of the skills they may be developing and enjoy some important bonding time with your child.

Remove headphones, particularly when younger children are playing online games with friends or where others are involved. That way you can have your ears pricked to any bullying, aggressive play or unwanted language.

So next time you are lamenting the time your child spends playing video games, remember that as long as you are able to come up with some rules and boundaries together, you will have a much better chance of keeping game playing healthy and beneficial. With the gaming industry growing rapidly and continually creating and providing for so many other industries, your child may well be working on the skills they’ll need in their future career.

Martine Oglethorpe

Martine Oglethorpe is a speaker, counsellor and educator with a passion for building resilient kids in a digital world. Martine is available for student workshops focused on positive online behaviours, for teacher professional development on how the digital world affects what happens in the classroom and for corporate and parent information sessions. For more information head to her website themodernparent.net. Contact details:
info@martineoglethorpe.com.au

APRE News:

By Mrs Kate Cullen, APRE

In the Classrooms

At the moment in the Religious Education classes students are studying a range of topics and heading into assessment pieces

• Study of Religion: Currently students are examining Church and State with a particular focus on the reformation and English rule from Henry the 8th onwards to be able to address the question around the combination of Church and State powers.
• 12 REET is currently examining the meaning of life through the main text of “Tuesdays with Morrie” and will write a literature review of texts which explore the meaning of life.
• Year 11 REET have been learning about Buddhism, Islam and Judaism. It’s the first time they have studied Buddhism and the life and influence of Siddhartha Gautama- The Buddha
• Year 10 RE are working on an ethical case study and considering how religious beliefs and teachings influence ethics and morality.
• Year 9 RE has been working through a unit focussing on the religious within Christian history, and what impact the changes in society had on inspiring the work of the religious like Augustine, Benedictines, Carmelites, Dominicans, John Bosco and Marcelin Champagnat.
• Year 8 RE have been examining the mystery of the trinity and initiation rituals.
• Year 7 RE have wrapped up their What do Catholics Believe? unit and are about to explore more about the scriptural foundation of Judaism and Christianity.

Henri Nouwen Reflection: Jesus' Compassion

Jesus is called Emmanuel which means "God-with-us" (see Matthew 1: 22-23). The great paradox of Jesus' life is that he, whose words and actions are in no way influenced by human blame or praise but are completely dependent on God's will, is more "with" us than any other human being.

Jesus' compassion, his deep feeling-with us, is possible because his life is guided not by human respect but only by the love of his heavenly Father. Indeed, Jesus is free to love us because he is not dependent on our love.

Photo courtesy of SDGimagery.com

Curriculum News:

By Mrs Anna Hardy, Assistant Principal—Curriculum

NAPLAN

Last week our Year 7 and 9 students participated in the online NAPLAN testing. These are nationwide tests in numeracy and literacy. The tests were carried out on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. We would like to congratulate the Year 7 and 9 students for their efforts in, and behaviour during, these tests. The results of the NAPLAN testing will be sent home in the form of a report. As we completed these online we should receive results sooner rather than later this year.

Semester Reports

Semester 1 Reports will be posted home during the last week of this term. Please ensure the College has the correct mailing address. Contact the office to make this change.

Tutorials

Just a reminder that tutorials run Thursday afternoons from 3:15pm-4:15pm. All students are more than welcome to attend.

Assessment Policy

Just a short reminder that students who know in advance that they will be absent on the day of an exam, or the day an assignment is due, need to see the class teacher PRIOR to that date. Other arrangements need to be made for the submission of the assessment and the earlier teachers receive this information, the better! Our College policy grants consideration for students who are ill or unable to complete exams and assignments due to other exceptional circumstances; however other commitments and early holidays are scenarios where assessment is still expected to be submitted on or before the due date. Remember it may be possible to email assessment in, however, this must be negotiated with the teacher.

Elective Preferences

In the coming week Year 10 students will receive their web preference forms for elective subjects in Semester 2. Preferences indicated on the returned web forms will determine which classes run and please note that students will be allocated to these classes in order of return of preference forms. Students will be notified of the subjects they have been allocated closer to the end of the term. Every effort will be made to grant each student their preferences; however this cannot always be guaranteed due to line offerings, staff resources and class sizes. Please note that last year, Year 9 students elected Semester 2 subjects.

Sport News:

By Mrs Julie Collins, Program Leader Sport

Rugby League

The ACW & St Joseph’s Confraternity campaign is building up nicely in the NRL Trophy (Darling Downs Open Rugby League). This term we have played:

Harristown State High School (lost 30-10)
Warwick State School (won 34-14)
Toowoomba State High School (won 32-6)
We have also played: (gala day in Dalby)
St Johns Roma (won 16-6)
Our Lady of the Southern Cross (lost 16-4)

Our next game is against Lockyer District State High School in Gatton on the 30th of May. Well done to all players.

Library News:

By Mrs Mary-Anne Driver

How can one small place accommodate such diverse activities? Everyone uses the library for different things - it’s a great place to chill out, challenge yourself with one of the puzzles or join in craft, games, chess or whatever else is happening.

I think it has a lot to do with the theme of our graffiti board this term, which is ‘Unwritten Rules for life.’ Things that we do that may not necessarily be written down but are accepted practice. This board is near the photocopier and students are adding their own thoughts while waiting for their photocopying to appear. One says ‘When Mrs Driver says no she means no!’ Compliment or not? I’m taking it as a compliment

Our airplane challenge was popular today with many types of planes getting a run on jersey, there was a prize for anyone who could hit the wall near the photocopiers, lots of laugher as some spiralled and didn’t quite make the wall, and lots of noise as students ‘helped’ their plane go further!

Business News:

By Mr Scott Clegg, Business Manager.

Term 2 school fees are due 31st May 2018. If you have any questions or concerns please contact the Finance office on 4660 4000. Thank you.

General Notices:

Science & Engineering Challenge

Assumption College Year 10 students competed at the Science and Engineering Challenge hosted by the University of Southern Queensland. The day consisted of student groups participating in a range of scientific and engineering challenges to gain points for their school. Challenges included constructing a lightweight model bridge, constructing a catapult using wooden dowel, coding, connecting electrical cables to power houses using an electrical board, designing and operating a bionic hand, linking towns with string in efficient ways, constructing water turbines and constructing Earthquake proof towers. Students thoroughly enjoyed their day out and were able to utilise their problem solving and investigative skills to find solutions to problems in different scenarios.

Breanna Cullen and Mackenzie Ganly, won a medallion for their challenge for having the most effective water turbine.

Open Day Photo Gallery

Mother's Day Morning Tea Photo Gallery

Student Travel Rebates

P&F Treasurer Required

The Assumption College P&F are in search of a new treasurer as the current Treasurer, Regina Henry, is retiring from the position. Regina is more than happy to stay and assist the new Treasurer whilst they become accustomed to the role. If you are interested in taking up the position, please contact the school office on 4660 4000.

Queensland Health Message

School Improvement Survey

This year our school will be participating in a School Review and Improvement Survey managed by Research Australia Development and Innovation Institute (RADII). As well as school staff and students from Years 7 - 12, all parents are invited to participate in the survey. The survey provides valuable feedback for the future directions of our school.

It would be appreciated if parents could update their contact details prior to the 24 June 2018.

This will ensure delivery to the correct parent email address.

On Monday the 30 July 2018, RADII will send all parents a personalised invitation to complete the survey online. If both parents' email addresses are on file at the school, the invitation will be sent to both parents. However, the survey will close once the first person has completed it. If you do not wish to complete the survey, simply delete it.

The survey will take approximately 10-15 minutes to complete. You can complete the survey from anywhere you have access to the internet. The survey will close on Sunday, 12 August 2018 for parents.

We encourage you to be very honest in your responses to the survey. All responses go directly to RADII so they are confidential and anonymous. When the surveys are completed, and responses aggregated by RADII, overall data is sent to us so that we can then share the findings with you.

Thank you.

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