By Mr Kort Goodman - Principal

Dear Parents, Caregivers and Students

Last Thursday we held our official opening of the new and refurbished buildings that have been completed over recent times. Today I would like to take the opportunity to share with you some parts of the speech that I made at this event. The reason I wish to do this is because I believe it marks an important milestone in the history of our College and acknowledges the efforts of a great number of people have who have been integral in creation of these outstanding facilities.

What an exceptional few weeks we have had; with the Assumption College Musical, our Feast Day Mass with St Mary’s Primary school, the finalisation of the submission of the first round of assessment pieces for endorsement as part of the new Queensland Certificate of Education program, all the other normal daily events of a very busy school and our opening today. I can honestly tell you that when we were looking at the calendar late last term and early this term we were not overly excited about what lay ahead, but here we are.

During this time, we have all witnessed the outstanding culture and spirit of Assumption College alive and well.  Staff who go the extra mile, students who work and support each other and families who love and work for what we all value here at our school.

Over the last seven years, during our College’s past Principal Mr Peter Moloney’s final years and my short time here, a lot has certainly happened across all aspects of our College and the development of the facilities for our students is no different.

The finalisation of the 400 Romero building including the three classrooms, tuckshop, toilets and change rooms, the refurbishment of the McAuley Building including the administration and music centre, the refurbishment of the St James Hall for Drama and the construction of this outstanding facility which includes our sports centre, multipurpose classrooms, industrial arts rooms and outdoor courts.

Looking ahead we have the current plans for the end of this year and beginning of next year including beautification of the entry to the College and courtyard two and refurbishment of rooms 204 and 205 into an industry standard hospitality facility and our master plan for the College including a new library.

After listing all of this construction which didn’t include the not so long ago built flying start 300 Donovan building, it now makes sense to me why during a recent enrolment interview and tour I did with a parent who attended ACW in the late 80s, the father commented that he did not recognise the place when he first returned to Warwick at the beginning of this year. Certainly, a lot has changed.

During all of this construction we have been wonderfully supported by the federal government through capital grants program and by the Diocese of Toowoomba Catholic Schools Office.

To the Federal Member for Maranoa the Honorable David Littleproud MP, we thank you for your support of our College. It seems such a long time ago since David first visited to inform us we had been successful in our grant application and we stood on the bank looking down at the old Man Arts Shed envisaging what this facility would look like, I can very honestly say that I didn’t imagine this amazing facility.

To our Executive Director Dr Pat Coughlan and Mr Paul Bryant TCS Facilities Development Manager, we thank you for your faith and vision.  To have an organisation that supports the facilities development that we need in a regional school has been marvelous.

To our architect Mr Ian Kauter and our builder Mr Dean McCarthy, your flexibility and willingness to work with a school who is endeavoring to continue daily routines as normal as possible was greatly appreciated. Thank you, gentlemen.  

My thanks also goes out to the staff of Assumption College. As I mentioned at the beginning of my speech it has been an extremely busy time and to have a staff and leadership team who are so very capable and more importantly willing to step up has been a gift from God.  There are many I could mention but I would like to single out a few.

Mrs Carol Sharp our Assistant Principal Religious Education and Mrs Anna Hary our Acting Deputy Principal. Two very organized and dedicated women who have a capacity to get things done, thank you so very much ladies. 

Mr Scott Clegg our Business Manager who has taken on so very much of the role of overseeing the progress of the construction of these buildings and reporting back to us and Ms Kylie Brodrick my personal assistant who has led the organisation of this event and every day makes me look good. Your support is so greatly appreciated.

To our Curriculum Leader – Physical Education and Design – Mr Matt Bruton and our industrial arts teachers Mr Bob Bell, Mr Phillip Yates and Mr Stephen Lunn and their classes who have been amazingly flexible and generous in their efforts to move us out of the old man arts building – into the demountable – out of the demountable – into the new facilities down stairs and who continue to work to set up the space to be state of the art – we cannot offer you enough thanks.

Finally, to Bishop Robert and everyone else here today we sincerely thank you for your continued support of our College. I am sure that Catherine McAuley and Edmund Rice the founders of the Sisters of Mercy and Christian Brothers upon which our College’s combined charism is based would look at us all with pride today as we continue to carry their vision into the modern world.

Finally, as a community, united in the truth and love of God we give thanks and call on our God’s blessing as we pray.

That we will mirror the spirit of the founders of the Mercy and Rice religious communities so that we too may reflect Christ in all that we say and do. For this we pray,

Lord, give us the Spirit of wisdom.

That we will use what we learn in order to understand our Christian calling more clearly and to live it more fully.

For this we pray,

Lord, give us the Spirit of wisdom.

That we may be aware of, promote and accept in all those we meet, human dignity, unlimited potential and fullness of life. For this we pray,

Lord, give us the Spirit of wisdom.

That we will value each other as co-workers and learners to help build the kingdom of God. For this we pray,

Lord, give us the Spirit of wisdom. 

That all those who have contributed to the design and construction of these buildings feel a sense that God’s mission was part of their work. For this we pray,

Lord, give us the Spirit of wisdom.

Amen

Have a lovely week.

Kort

 

By Mrs Anna Hardy, Acting Deputy Principal

Child Protection Week (1-7 September 2019) – Student Protection Surveys

This year one of the major activities we are undertaking for Child Protection Week is to participate in an online student protection survey. The Queensland Catholic Education Commission is co-ordinating a state-wide project to find out how effective our Student Protection Processes and Guidelines in schools are. Parents, students and staff members in schools will be invited to participate in the survey.

Our school is one of 17 in the Diocese of Toowoomba that has been selected to participate in the survey, which will be administered during Child Protection Week. The survey asks questions about student protection and will take approximately 15 minutes to complete. Parents will receive an email that will have a link to the survey. Students will complete the survey at school and consent information will be provided closer to the date.

We are pleased to be part of this important project for continuous improvement and encourage your participation. If you have any questions about the survey please contact Barbara Woods at the Toowoomba Catholic Schools Office on (07) 4687 4348 or by emailing barbara.woods@twb.catholic.edu.au.

Student Protection Survey

During this week parents will receive a letter with information about an upcoming Student Protection Survey. The survey is intended to gather feedback on how well we are implementing our student protection processes. We would like all parents to participate in the online survey, which is confidential and voluntary. Students and staff will also be completing a survey.

The survey is being administered by an independent research organisation, who will collate results and provide us with recommendations for improvement. We will give you more information soon about how and when you can access the survey online.

Student safety is very important to us and we value the input of our school community. Please contact the office if you do not receive a letter by Friday 30 August 2019, or if you specifically do not wish your child to participate.

By Ms Eliza Harris - Acting Assistant Principal - Curriculum 

QCS

Good luck to the OP eligible Year 12 students (and any elected OP ineligible students) who will sit the QCS tests next week.  These students have working hard in preparation for these four papers. A reminder that students sitting the test must attend school on both days, students that are not sitting the test do not have to attend school on these days.

NAPLAN

Watch this space for a very exciting update on some tremendously positive NAPLAN results at Assumption College Warwick in 2019!

Assessment calendars

A reminder that assessment calendars for all year levels are available on the student device. There is an icon on their desktop.  These are live calendars that reflect changes made.

Extensions

Remember that extensions are for extenuating circumstances, extended illness (with medical certificate supplied in senior years), and family bereavement.  Technological issues are not grounds for an extension as backing up electronic work is the student’s responsibility.  Students can not apply on the due date for an extension (unless in extenuating circumstances) as they can email staff their assessment if they are not at school.  Students must make every effort to get the assessment handed in on the due date. 

Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any additional questions in regards to Curriculum at the College.

By Mrs Carol Sharp, APRE

Homelessness Week

Recently some of our students attended the SVDP Homelessness Week presentation. Cornerstone Program Co-ordinator Jackie Doyle provided students with a wealth of information regarding homelessness including;

• 116,000 people experience homelessness in Australia but only 20% of those ‘sleep rough’
• 24% of the homeless population are made up of people aged 12 – 24 years
• 25% of homeless people identify as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Island people even though they only make up 3% of the Australian population

Many of the causes of homelessness were discussed including the current housing crisis that exists, domestic and family violence, family relationship breakdown and, of course, poverty.

Housing Support Workers, Dale Mann and Amanda Baugh then guided the students through some scenarios to explore what actually constitutes homelessness. It became increasingly apparent that homelessness can occur to anyone given the right set of circumstances. Students also gained an appreciation of the different types of homelessness including situations such as ‘couch surfing’ where usually young people move from couch to couch in friends’ houses, lacking any secure housing of their own.

It was a highly informative presentation and one which challenged the students to look beyond the obvious at just what was occurring in our local area. A big thanks to all the ladies at Cornerstone for the invitation.

Blessing and Opening of New and Refurbished Buildings

On Thursday last week we were joined by Bishop Robert McGuckin and the Honourable David Littleproud, federal member for Maranoa to officially bless and open our new buildings. Despite a very windy day, the morning was a huge success with the standout being the performances of our students. While the Bishop walked around to bless the various buildings we were entertained by the full cast of the musical Legally Blonde Jnr, the Vocal Group, the Rock Band and solo performances from Jess Botha singing and Kayla Malbon on the drums. It never ceases to amaze me how talented our students are and how much they shine when they put up their hands to get involved. It helps to remind us what these new buildings are all about – providing opportunities for our students to learn, grow and reach their potential.

A big thank you to all students involved and the tireless work of a multitude of staff who supported them.

Social Justice Forum

By Mrs Julie Collins - Program Leader Sport

By Mr Scott Clegg - Business Manager 

Term 3 School Fees accounts have been issued and the fees are due 30th August 2019 unless you have a Direct Debit or other payment arrangement with the college.

If you have any queries, please contact the college office.

By Mrs Jenny Gillespie

Adolescent Employment

Adolescence, as a period of transition from the carefree world of childhood into the adult world of responsibility includes several major developmental tasks.  Primarily these are identity development and the drive for autonomy and achievement.  During this time, adolescents also strive for increased social, emotional and financial independence from their parents and looking for employment during this developmental stage can help accomplish all of these goals. 

Research shows that working during high school can have both positive and negative effects. The benefits include a sense of purpose, acquisition of time management skills, and development of a work ethic and work etiquette, financial choice making and the development of social and financial skills required for independence.

Negative effects can include less time for homework and assignments, less time with family, higher levels of fatigue and conflict with parents over spending decisions.   However, negative effects of employment for teens are clearly linked to the number of hours spent working.  That is, the more hours teens work, the more prone they are to experience negative effects. 

In this sense, part-time jobs are great for teens but they must be careful not to overdo it.  Creating a weekly schedule with your teen will help and can highlight the time they spend working and the time they dedicate to school related (homework, assignments and study) and leisure activities.  Remember that work may be beneficial if the number of hours worked per week is 15 or less. 

Source, Ohio State University 2011.

By Mrs Mary-Anne Driver 

Bookweek

What a fun week we have had during Bookweek.  Congratulations to Gabby Kerlin, Shelby Walker, Andrew Doyle and Keely Byrne who were correctly able to match (using clues and by questioning staff) all 29 secret powers! Congratulations to Romero staff who also got 100% correct. 

Another competition we had running was to match a paragraph from 5 books to the right book each day during PC.  RIC4 and ROM2 took out the honours with 25/25.  Both of these PC’s have a special prize heading their way before the end of term.

We also had a team from Year 7 participate in the Readers Challenge at the Warwick High School.  This challenge involved reading 4 books and then answering 15 questions about each book.  There were some tricky questions too.   Congratulations must go to Leigham Portener, Will Saunders, Libby Cooper, Regan Henderson and Alisha Millard who represented ACW with style and enjoyed themselves in the process.

We were invited to nominate a staff team and Mrs Schultz, Mrs Wooding and I (with a scribe) narrowly beat SCOTS and Warwick High to bring home a box of chocolates, and bragging rights.

We have a very clever group of students racing to solve the next generation Rubik’s cube  - some are in star shapes – they are fighting for couch space amongst the chess and UNO players and those enjoying downtime on their ipads.

Year 11/12 Hospitality Practices

Over the past two weeks the students have been producing a variety of main meals that include a protein, carbohydrate and farinaceous component and they have been practising their presentation and garnishing skills.

Art Excursion

The art excursion to QAG and GOMA was a great day out for all. Yes, the art was great! Yes the students were wonderful ambassadors. (Yes lunch was awesome and entertaining with the Ibis attacks, student freak outs and a resident Spiderman (young boy in costume) chasing them away).   Ben Quilty and Margaret Olley, both Australian treasures, were engaging and thoughtful exhibitions. The chance to see the Year 12 best artworks of 2018 in the Creative Generations Exhibit was an opportunity for students to see the potential for their own works.

However, the highlight for myself was the studio workshop with John Honeywill and the students own production of still life photographs. John led them through a challenge to produce interesting photographs from everyday materials and produce they did. Each group creating a folio or artworks that could themselves be exhibited but also teaching them a lot about experimenting with the everyday, playing with light and focus, and developing visually interesting forms and final artworks. 

Optiminds

Congratulations to our Junior Opti-MINDS team who were recognised with a Spirit of Opti-MINDS award at UQ Gatton on Sunday. They did incredibly well in the Spontaneous Challenge, which is designed to enhance the potential of all participants by developing diverse skills, enterprise, time management & the discipline to work collaboratively within a challenging & demanding environment. Thanks to Mr Dudin and Ms Morrison who supported the team on the day.

Fathers Day BBQ