26 October 2018

Newsletter Articles

Principal’s Message:

By Mr Kort Goodman - Principal

Today is World Teachers’ Day and as a gesture of thanks to your child’s teachers, our Parent’s and Friends Association kindly organised pizzas and cake for our teachers.

As you are very aware teachers play an important role in your child’s life. A teacher nurtures, supports and encourages the growth of a child. A teacher makes a clear connection with a child. A teacher comes to understand a child. A teacher knows how to bring the best out in a child. A teacher doesn’t give up on a child.

At Assumption College we are blessed to have dedicated staff who take pride in their work and enjoy being a positive influence on your children. We thank and honor all of our teachers on this day. If you get a chance to thank one your child’s teachers, I know that they’d take it to heart.

A Prayer for World Teacher’s Day

Giver of all wisdom and greatest of all teachers,
Look upon our teachers with love
Grant them the resolve to nurture our eager minds
and to never give up on us who fall behind.
Bless their hearts for they rejoice
when we succeed and encourage us when we fail
And bless them with gentle patience
for the path of learning is never easy
Kindle a spirit and passion in them
it is the flame that ignites the love of learning in us
Help them see the potential in each student
Their belief in us means much more than the grade we make
Instill in them a commitment to keep on learning
It shows us to not fear new knowledge and experiences
Inspire them to touch the future
They influence how big a dream we dream for ourselves
Bless our teachers who have come before
For their work endures to this day
Let the light of your example shine upon all teachers
To build up with their words
To love with their mind
To share with their heart.
Amen

Senior Leadership Positions

I sent out a letter to all parents last week highlighting that I was pleased to announce that we have concluded our recruitment process to fill the senior leadership positions of Deputy Principal and Assistant Principal Religious Education of Assumption College. Mr Craig Frattini has been successful in being re-appointed as the Deputy Principal and Mrs Carol Sharp has been appointed as the Assistant Principal Religious Education. Our College is very fortunate to have such outstanding educators as part of the leadership team of the College. We are very grateful for Craig and Carol’s willingness to continue to serve the College and we look forward to an exciting future focussed on providing the best educational opportunities for our students.

Have a lovely week

Kort

TERM 4 – 2018 DATE CLAIMERS

Pastoral Care News:

By Mr Craig Frattini, Deputy Principal

Parenting Ideas Insights

6 Nightmare Habits That are Ruining Teenagers Sleep
By Michael Grose

Many teenagers today are sleep deprived. They should be getting between 9 and 10 hours sleep each night, yet most get only 7 or 8 hours. Some get less.

Sleep deprivation is akin to jet lag. It causes young people not to function at their optimum. It can be the cause of poor behaviour, mental health problems and low functioning in the classroom.

Sleep maximises the brain growth that occurs during adolescence. It also consolidates learning. Sleep research has shown that when a young person is asleep, the brain practises what it has learned during the day. So sufficient sleep consolidates past learning as well as keeping a young person fresh to maximise their future learning.

Sleep experts stress that while adults may not have control over biology we can assist young people to establish good sleep patterns. The first step is to eradicate some of their bad habits, starting with the following:

1. Being glued to a digital screen

The digital devices a young person uses to roam through cyberspace are as addictive as cocaine, with similar arousal effects as well. The blue light emitted by mobile devices stimulates the brain into keeping kids awake well into the night. Tip: Get your kids away from digital devices at least 90 minutes before bedtime.

2. Doing homework in bed

The brain associates activity with location. When young people are at their desks in school it’s easy to get into study mode. If they fire up their laptops and work while on their beds, it is hard for them to mentally switch off from their schoolwork when the light finally goes out. Tip: Keep homework out of bedrooms. If they must work in their rooms, confine study to a desk.

3. Spending all day indoors

Moping around the house is a huge part of the adolescent experience. However, spending all day away from natural light is shown to lead to anxiety and depression, which are both causes and symptoms of lack of sleep. Put a cap on moping about and encourage them to go outside – take a walk, meet a mate, do an errand. Tip: A minimum of hour outside a day helps keep insomnia at bay.

4. Sleeping in late on weekends

The sleep–wake cycle for teenagers is delayed by up to two hours. That is, they get sleepy later and wake later than when they were children. In most teens, melatonin – which makes them sleepy – is secreted around 11 pm. Cortisol, the chemical that wakes them up, is secreted at 8.15 am for many. So the adolescent brain wants to be asleep just when most them need to be waking up to go to school. Many teenagers catch up on this lost sleep on the weekend. However, if your teen is sleeping in until midday on weekends then his whole sleep cycle is being thrown out of whack. Tip: Keep sleep-ins to no more than an hour longer than normal to keep the sleep clock operating on a regular basis.

5. Talking on their mobile phones

A mobile is an extension of the person for most teens. Unfortunately, there’s no getting away from the fact that mobile phones may be harming our health. The study found that regular mobile phone users reported more headaches, took longer to fall asleep and had difficulty experiencing a deep sleep. Encourage young people to limit the length of their calls and place a moratorium on mobile use 90 minutes before bedtime.

6. Consuming caffeine and other stimulants

Consuming caffeine in any form after dinner is like throwing a wrecking ball through regular sleep patterns. The brain needs to calm down rather than be artificially stimulated if sleep is to occur. Tip: Confine caffeinated drinks to mornings to minimise their impact on sleep.

According to Beyondblue, one in seven teenagers experiences a mental health disorder. Many experts agree that if they were to choose only one strategy to improve young people’s wellbeing it would be to increase the quality and quantity of sleep that teenagers have. That’s how important sleep is to a young person’s wellbeing.

Michael Grose

Michael Grose, founder of Parenting Ideas, is one of Australia’s leading parenting educators. He’s the author of 10 books for parents including Thriving! and the best-selling Why First Borns Rule the World and Last Borns Want to Change It, and his latest release Spoonfed Generation: How to raise independent children.

APRE News:

By Mrs Kate Cullen, APRE

10 World Religion Excursion

Though tired on their return after a long day, the Year 10 students and the staff on the trip had an enjoyable day visiting the different places of worship and learning about Judaism, Islam and Buddhism. Students heard from members of the community at each location explaining the features and uses of the different parts of the place of worship for the adherents. They had a longer 2 hour visit at the Buddhist Temple where they were able to also practise the art of meditation in the meditation room and also in copying calligraphy. They are learning about both Buddhism and Islam in their current religion unit so they day should have enriched class content. I thank the staff on the students behalf for the day.

High Seas Retreat

On Tuesday Assumption was lucky to have the majority of Year 10 students participate in this year’s High Seas Retreat. The day began with a class liturgy and reflecting on personal goals, and as the ice-breakers activities were completed the students moved into the group challenge to build a cardboard racing boat. They also had to work as a group to talk about their 5 and 10 year goals and reflect on the kind of resources that they would all need if they theoretically had to stock a boat with the essentials to get them to their goal. Students thought past simply the food, water and money to thinking about having determination, resilience, back-up plans and other thought-provoking items. I thank Mrs Hardy and Mrs Sharp on the behalf of the students for leading the day and our tuckshop staff for the meals, and Mr Goodman who was able to share part of the day with us. Each student had an envelope to take home with them that included their own mapping out of a 5-year goal as well as a gift of a olive wood holding cross that was handmade in Jerusalem. I hope they were able to share with their families positive reflections on the day.

Christmas Appeal Hampers

Just a general reminder about the Christmas Hampers that students are creating with their pastoral classes. I hope everyone has or will be able to contribute to creating these baskets of food staples, Christmas treats and gifts for our local families.

Catholic Mission – Socktober Appeal

You Are Mission

‘You are Mission’ is a message for all of us. As Pope Francis writes in his World Mission Day message this year, ’Every man and woman is a mission; that is the reason for our life on this earth’. Please view the you are mission film to learn more about the work of Catholic missions that we will support by making gold coin donations for wearing crazy socks as part of the Socktober appeal.

Reflection Father Ron Roheiser: Faith Through Mysticism

Being born into a Christian family and worshipping within a Christian church can give us a relationship to a religion, to an ideology, to a truth, and to a community of worship; but these things, of themselves, are not the same thing as an actual faith in God.

Just as we have people who believe but do not practice, many of us practice but do not believe. Subscribing to an ideology, however noble and inspirational it might be, is not the same thing as believing in and actually worshipping God.

To actually believe in God today, one must at some point in his or her life make a deep, private act of faith. That act is itself difficult because the very forces that help erode our cultural, communal faith also work against us making this private act of faith.

To make an act of faith requires an inner journey. There, in that journey into the deepest recesses of the soul, some of the things I must face are:

• My weakness, my sin, my infidelities, my lies, my rationalizations, my constant avoiding of the searing truth.
• My jealousies and angers, my bitterness that life has not been fair to me, that others have things I don’t have, and that I have never forgiven them nor made peace with my loss.
• My sicknesses and addictions, the fact that I am not whole, that inside me there dark corners and dark demons that do not show up on my photographs, on my resume, and in the things my friends know about me.
• My godlessness, that black hole of fear, insecurity, chaos, and emptiness within me.

To read more click here or copy this address into your browser http://ronrolheiser.com/faith-through-mysticism/#.W8S5GhNKjq0

Curriculum News:

By Mrs Anna Hardy, Assistant Principal—Curriculum

Unleashing Personal Potential Awards

Last week at assembly the ‘Unleashing Personal Potential’ Awards were distributed to students in Years 7-12. These awards were presented to students who displayed outstanding learning behaviours – attitude, conduct and effort- from the Term 3 progress reports. Congratulations to these students on their application to their studies in Term 3.

Year 12 Exam Block

The final exam block for Year 12 students will run from Wednesday the 7th November to Monday the 12th November. Year 12 students will have normal classes up to and including Tuesday the 6th November. The exam block schedule will be released to the students shortly.

Year 11 Exam Block and 7-10 Assessment Week

Year 11 exam block and the junior assessment week will run from Monday 26th November to Friday the 30th 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 Assessment Calendars are available from an icon on the student’s device. Term 4 dates are now live.

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.

End of Year 12 Information

A reminder to Year 12 students to ensure they have accessed their Learner Account through the Student Connect website below. Students will need their LUI numbers and password to login and access their OPs from 9 am on Saturday 15th December. Students will be able to access their results more quickly if they have previously activated their learning account.

From 9am on Wednesday 14th November students will be able to access their individual QCS Test results – from A to E – in their learning account (on the Student Connect website). These results will also be included in their Senior Statement at the end of the year.

From 9am on Monday 18th December students will begin receiving their Senior Education Profiles in the mail. Depending on individual student’s circumstances and results, each profile will comprise one or more of the following documents:

• QCE
• Tertiary Entrance Statement
• Senior Statement
• Queensland Certificate of Individual Achievement.

We wish the Year 12’s the very best for their last exam block and their final weeks at school.

School Counsellor:

By Mrs Jenny Gillespie, School Counsellor

On Thursday last week, our Grade 12 students spent a lesson with Mrs Sue Hamlet, our local Lifeline Gambling Educator. Lifeline is funded by the QLD Government to run education programs for Senior school students to empower them to make good choices regarding gambling. Mrs Hamlet looked at the different forms of gambling including Sports Betting and explained to students the difference between gambling and ‘problem gambling’. She said that whilst gambling can be fun, over time the odds are against you and that it is possible to get addicted if you’re not careful! The students eagerly participated in the workshop. We are fortunate on the Southern Downs to have this valuable community resource. Please note, Mrs Hamlet is also available for individual consultations and can be contacted on 0458 800 599 if needed.

Library News:

By Mrs Mary-anne Driver

Two new games have appeared in the library that have proved very popular – UNO spin and Newton’s Laws. The library is providing a place for students to hang out with peers and others not usually in their group, and enjoy some down time. Some games require strategy and lateral thinking while others get noisy as the stakes get higher!

We are starting to recall books and the library will be closed in week 8 to allow time for us to stocktake. If you see any library or text books at home, please remind your child to drop them into the library.

Chess News

We have some exciting opportunities coming up for our students in the area of chess! Please encourage your student to collect a permission form for each of the activities from Mrs Wooding in the library, or email carmel.wooding@twb.catholic.edu.au to receive one digitally.

• Chess Coaching: We have engaged prominent Toowoomba chess coach Les Lord to conduct a 3 hour chess workshop with students on Saturday November 3. This will be held from 9am – 12pm at St James Hall (Assumption) & is open to younger siblings from year 4 up also. The cost is $15 per student and students need to rsvp by Monday, October 29.
• Regional Chess Tournament: On Monday, November 19 we are hosting the inaugural Warwick Regional Chess Tournament. We have engaged Gardiner Chess from the Gold Coast to officiate this competition and have invited schools from all around the region. Again, this competition is open to students from year 4 upwards and is an awesome opportunity for students to have fun and achieve in the area of chess. Entry will be $15 per student and entry forms are available at the library.

Business News:

By Mr Scott Clegg, Business Manager.

Term 4 School fees were posted last week. Included with the account was the 2019 Textbook Hire Form for each student. Please sign and return the form at your earliest convenience. If your student is not returning in 2019, it is a Government requirement to provide signed confirmation to the College stating as to where your student will going. Please also provide this written confirmation at your earliest convenience.

If you have any queries in relation to school fees, please contact our Business Manager, Scott Clegg.

General Notices:

Tennis State Finals

Congratulations to Billy Mutch who recently played in Rockhampton in the JDS State Finals for tennis. Billy placed 14th in the U13 boys – well done Billy!

Nudgee Band

Students from Assumption College attended a performance by The Nudgee Rock Band at St Mary’s McKillop Centre last Friday. The performance was outstanding and greatly enjoyed by the students who attended.

Assumption College Open Afternoon

Assumption College welcomed members of the public including past students and staff to attend our open afternoon last Thursday afternoon to see how the College has grown in recent times. Visitors were able to view our new music room, renovated St James Hall and the construction progress on the new trade and sports center.

Position Vacant

Parent Evening with Madonna King

For more details and registration

Student Travel Rebates

Australian Catholic Church

Did You Know :

The good we rarely tell anyone…..

SVDP is the largest and most extensive volunteer welfare network in the country with 18,209 members and 30,910 volunteers.

St Mary’s Catholic Parish:

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