By Mrs Liisa Hammond, Principal

Gospel
John 10: 11-18

In John’s Gospel, Jesus as the Good Shepherd is explored. The metaphor of the Good Shepherd highlights Jesus’ commitment to us all and his willingness to stay with us, guide us and protect us.

At Assumption College, the Good Shepherd metaphor can easily be seen enlivened through our current student leaders and the entire Year 12 cohort. The manner in which this cohort of young people has been able to care for and nurture the aspirational culture of Assumption College is a legacy that will have an enduring impact on the lives of the students who join our community for years to come.

The willingness of young people to model and live the virtue of inclusiveness, of never leaving anyone behind, is such an empowering gift that gives life to the Gospel of the Good Shepherd.

May we all benefit from the legacy gifted to our community by our 2024 Year 12 Cohort – all ways, for always.

ANZAC Day Liturgy

Firstly, as a College, we honour and thank Mr John Telford for his work and dedication to not only the research and writing of our Assumption College Memorial Text, They Shall Not Grow Old, but also for the construction and dedication of the Assumption College Honour Board.

ANZAC Day has always been commemorated with dignity and respect at the College, and with the greatest of thanks to Mr Riley Salter, our 2024 Liturgy was no exception. Mr Salter’s work provided a sacred place of reflection and storytelling, that returned our Old Boys to our community. The display of crosses, carefully crafted by Mr Brady Retallick’s ITD students and painted by Ms Kate Cullen’s Art students, is a legacy item that will be honoured every time we gather on this special occasion.

Lest We Forget.

Queensland Certificate of Education Review

In Week 2, Assumption College had the unique opportunity to be a case study school for the QCAA Formal Review of the Queensland Certificate of Education (QCE). It was unique, as we were 1 of 10 schools selected from across the state. We had students, past students, teachers, middle and senior leaders, senior leadership members, as well as parents/guardians interviewed.

The feedback from the University of Melbourne representatives, who conducted the independent review, as well as the representative from QCAA, was one of resounding respect for the knowledge and understanding that all members of our community hold for our senior students and their journey.

It was a privilege to have our voices heard on such an impactful and important aspect of schooling for our young people.

Senior Formal – Soiree in the Garden

Congratulations to our Year 12 students on an exceptional evening of celebration. Heartfelt thanks must go to Mr Patrick Donnelly for his work before his departure and to Mrs Bianca Retallick, who once again, comfortably and sophisticatedly, stepped into the heels of Formal Coordinator. A member of staff who was consistent throughout the entire creation of the night was Mrs Theresa Bourke, and we thank her for her dedication to ensuring such a beautiful experience for our Year 12s.

A special thank you must go to Alannah Johnson for her 18th year of dance classes for students and, on the night, refreshers for parents – Alannah is responsible for ensuring that the tradition of the Formal is alive and well.

What was truly exceptional was the planning that had to go into the evening, given the building project that was, and still is, happening. The ingenuity to ensure that the night was truly memorable was at the forefront of every decision—it is with great certainty that we can say that this was achieved.

Welcome New Staff

As we sadly said our goodbyes to staff last term, we excitedly welcome the following staff members to our community this term. 

• Codie Ellis: Senior Pastoral Leader and Music/Art
• Tevita Hokohako: Agricultural Science and Junior Science
• Tayla Hoffman: Senior Biology and Junior Science.
• Kodey Brims: Spanish and English Teacher
• Tara Gustafson: Tuckshop Convenor
• Tanya Griffith: Tuckshop Convenor
• Janice Diatschenko: Tuckshop Convenor
• Stevie Meerdink: Career Support Officer

Goodbye, Ms Jane Mayall

With a sad heart, we farewell our beloved, Jane Mayall. Jane has taught at the College for the past four years. Jane’s exceptional heart for her students and dedication to their success will be sorely missed. Jane is moving to Brisbane to be closer to family and loved ones.

Jane, you asked for a silent farewell, so out of respect, I shall honour that request; however, please know that you take with you the gratitude of our community, and we wish you and your family every success.

Assumption College Variety Showcase

What an amazing two nights of dancing, singing, acting and all-round fun and talent!

Of course, what was two nights for the majority of our community was, in fact, a full 12 months of planning, rehearsing, scheduling, and performing for our Variety Showcase team and our ever-so-passionate students.

As you would be aware, we have been dedicated to the growth and development of our Cultural program at Assumption College for the past two years. With the addition of Mr Richard Coe to the position of Curriculum Leader: Arts and Performance, Esther Hohenheim, Devon Pringle, and Codey Ellis, coupled with the recognised talents of Sathumi Wijesooriya, Aaron Buchanan, Denise Dewhurst, Abraham Fern, Michael Cannard, Tayla Quinn and (the list goes on!), our Cultural offerings at Assumption College are endless in their potential.

Right to Disconnect

As part of our recent Enterprise Bargaining Agreement for staff, we have introduced a Right to Disconnect policy for our staff. You can find the policy below.

In short, the following points of information are important for you to know:

• Assumption College staff will reply to electronic communication between the hours of 8:00am and 5:00pm, Monday to Friday.
• Where contact is made outside of this span of hours, employees will respond on the employee’s next designated working day, considering weekends, leave, other non-working days, vacation periods and holidays.

I encourage you to read through the policy to understand why this has been enacted.

If there is an emergency or you require assistance in any matter pertaining to your child outside of the stated hours, please do not hesitate to email me at liisa.hammond@twb.catholic.edu.au. I do thank you for supporting our staff by recognising and respecting their right to disconnect.

May our Mother Mary grant her blessings upon our College Community. 

By Mrs Anna Hardy, Assistant Principal Curriculum 

Parent/Teacher/Student Conferences

Thank you for your active participation in our recent Parent/Teacher/Student Conferences. We truly appreciate your commitment to your child’s education and understand that your time is valuable. These conferences provide a unique opportunity for our community to come together, discuss student progress, share insights, address concerns, and celebrate achievements. We firmly believe that this collaborative approach to education is essential for the success of our students.

As a College, we highly value our partnership with parents. Working together to support your child’s education journey is crucial. This partnership creates a holistic and supportive environment that promotes both academic success and personal growth.
We hope that the conferences provided you with valuable insights and feedback on your child’s progress. We encourage you to stay engaged with us and participate in future conferences and events. Your involvement and support play an integral role in our students’ success at any stage of their education journey.

Atomi - Years 7 - 12 Resource Platform

We are pleased to inform you that all Years 7-12 students have access to Atomi, an online learning platform designed to enhance their study, revision, and exam practice. Atomi utilises AI algorithms to personalise each student’s learning experience, tailoring resources and study materials to their individual strengths and weaknesses.

Key features of Atomi include:

• Curriculum Alignment: Atomi covers a wide range of subjects, including English, Maths, Science, and Humanities, all aligned with the Australian Curriculum and/or the QCAA Senior Syllabi.

• Interactive Lessons: Students can access engaging interactive lessons that help consolidate their understanding of key concepts

• Quizzes and Practice Exams: Atomi provides quizzes and practice exams to reinforce learning and assess progress.

• Immediate Feedback: As students work through exercises, Atomi’s AI system monitors their performance and offers real-time feedback on strengths and weaknesses.

Whether it’s improving academic performance or preparing for exams, Atomi is a valuable resource for Years 7-12 students. Its AI-powered platform ensures a personalised learning experience, and its comprehensive syllabus coverage empowers students to achieve academic success.

Aspirational Achievement Awards

We are excited to announce that the Aspirational Achievement Awards will be presented during our next assembly in Week 4. These awards recognise student attributes reflected in the Term 1 Report card, including application, behaviour, participation, punctuality, and organisation. We eagerly anticipate celebrating the success of our students during this special event. Invitations will be sent to parents of students receiving an award.

Click here to register for Free Parent Webinar https://go.elevateeducation.com/auschoolwebinars

By Mrs Julie Collins, Assistant Principal Pastoral and Wellbeing 

Start of Term 2

No such thing as a slow start or quiet term in schools! Term 2 started with the Senior Formal, Parent/Teacher conferences, ANZAC Liturgy, Variety Showcase and somehow fitted teaching and learning amongst it. The students have handled the interruptions and expectations with ease and should be commended for their respect during these events.

Being able to adjust and display flexibility demonstrates resilience. I have discussed resilience with the students and in newsletter articles previously. It seems to become more and more important to teach our young people, and more and more needed with life's challenges.

The following traits are displayed by teenagers who are resilient:

• Being told ‘no’ and being able to cope

o The very basics of life – it is unrealistic to have everything you want and parents are the first teachers of this by saying ‘no’ from babies until adulthood.

• Emotional awareness and regulation

o Emotions are neither good nor bad, they just are. Work on the ability to regulate emotions

• Control over impulses

o Think of responses before verbalising and respond politely. This way you will have more chance of being heard

• An optimistic outlook

o Embrace challenges and get it done – start with little steps

• Flexible thinking

o It’s ok to feel uncertain, and it’s ok to change plans

Quiet Achievers

By Mr Scott Clegg, Business Manager 

Building Project Update - Learning Resource Centre and Classrooms

We are delighted to report the recent advances on the Assumption College Learning Resource Centre and Year 7 precinct. As the building works shift to the eastern side of the project site, and the roof and framing are installed on the ground floor, we have reached several important milestones that will help us improve our learning spaces.

We look forward to welcoming you to the new Learning Resource Centre and classrooms where our students and staff will enjoy modern and dynamic spaces. This project not only improves our infrastructure but also enhances the overall learning experiences.

Tuckshop is Open

By Mrs Alison Porter, Career Development Practitioner 

White Card Course

The College offered Year 10, Year 11 and Year 12 students the opportunity to participate in the Work Safely in the Construction Industry course on Wednesday 1 May, 2024. Successful completion of the course is awarded with a Construction White Card. The cost for this course, is $84 and is added to participants College account.

If your child wishes to complete work experience, obtain employment or secure a traineeship or apprenticeship in a trade involving construction, they will need to have successfully completed the accredited course and have obtained their White Card. 

Coming Soon: Brisbane Careers and Employment Expo

Assumption College is offering Year 10, Year 11 and Year 12 students the opportunity to attend the Brisbane Careers and Employment Expo on Friday, 24 May, 2024. The expo promises to host over 160 organisations and employers with career opportunities. The event is recommended for students considering employment, looking for a career path or seeking career information.

A letter with further information and a permission slip for parents to sign and return, should their child wish to attend, will be sent home in the near future.

Coming Soon: Expresso Machine Operation Skillset Course ('Barista')

The College would like to offer Year 11 and Year 12 students the opportunity to participate in an Expresso Machine Operation Skillset Course on the 28 – 30 May 2024. This is a three-day course that provides students with the skills and knowledge to work in barista environments. This is a useful course for many hospitality pathways and the course has the benefit of awarding two points towards the Queensland Certificate of Education (QCE) to successful students. The cost for this course, should your child with to participate, is $240 and will be added to your College account. The course is comprised of both theory and practical work and will be delivered at Assumption College by a trainer from Aurora Training Institute (RTO Code 32237).

A letter with further information and a permission slip for parents to sign and return should their child wish to attend will be sent home in the near future.

Date Claimer: Year 10 Work Experience Block

Our College runs a Careers program that aims to prepare students for their senior phase of learning and assist students in making decisions around career and education pathways. As part of the Careers program, we suspend classes for Year 10 and offer these students the opportunity to participate in a week of work experience.

This year the work experience block program will run in Term 2, Week 9, Monday, 10 June to Friday, 14 June 2024. Students have been provided their work experience books and should be busy sourcing an appropriate workplace for this week-long opportunity. Students are asked to return their completed and signed forms by Friday 10 May, 2024.

By Mr Thomas Duggan, Sports Coordinator  

QISSN Netball and Confro Rugby League

At the end of Week 1, our QISSN Netball team and Confro Rugby League team travelled to Roma to compete for the Mercy Shield. This is a carnival designed to prepare our teams for QISSN and Confro.

Congratulations to the QISSN team for their efforts over the weekend. They started the carnival strongly with a convincing win on Friday afternoon. They played a number of games on Saturday with mixed results. On Sunday, the girls won their final game to secure fourth position overall. Well done girls. The Confro Rugby League team had a tough weekend due to a number of unavailable players; however, they demonstrated resilience to continue to compete all weekend. Overall, the boys finished in fifth position after winning their final game on Sunday morning. These teams will be continuing to compete in their respective competitions during Term 2 in the lead up to Confro and QISSN. Best of luck for the rest of the season.

Recent College Sport Representatives

Congratulations to the following students on their recent selection in Darling Downs Regional Sports Teams:

        Jack Burton - Rugby League
        Lauren Ryan - Hockey
        Aiden Byrne - Swimming
        Jett White - Swimming
        Maeve Moore - Swimming
        Ellyn Moore - Swimming
        Charlie Ruhle - Swimming
        River Stewart - Swimming
        Jaz Cruda - Basketball

By Mr Richard Coe, Curriculum Leader 

Variety Showcase just keeps getting better!

International Dance Day celebrated at Assumption College.

The Woman In Black

Coming Up

Thursday 9 May 2024: Theatre trip to ‘Woman in Black’, QPAC – some tickets still available
Thursday 18 July – Saturday 28 July 2024: Jumpers and Jazz in July, 2024. Musical performances, wearable art exhibition and tree decoration
Wednesday 2 October 2024: Theatre trip to ‘Wicked’, QPAC – letters coming soon

To be announced: (watch this space!)

Rodeo 2024
School Production 2025

By Mrs Jenny Gillespie, Counsellor  

Term 2

By Mrs Amanda McCosker, College Chaplain 

Welcome Back To Term 2!

I hope everyone had a restful and relaxing break and I trust that you are all recharged for the busy and exciting term ahead.

Breakfast Club

There have been lots of happy faces at the Breakfast Club table already this term as the cooler weather means the return of warm Milo and tea. Many students have warmed themselves up with a drink and a hot piece of toast as the debate over the best way to make a Milo has resumed – is it Milo, hot water, then milk; or should the Milo be mixed with the milk before the hot water is added? Furthermore, do you need to add sugar to your Milo, as isn’t Milo basically made from sugar? The conversations are interesting and entertaining to say the least.

Do it for Dolly Day

Friday, 10 May, 2024 is Do it for Dolly Day, and this year the College will be recognising this important day by encouraging students to wear a touch of blue with their uniform on Wednesday, 8 May, 2024. This might be a pair of socks, a ribbon, or any other blue piece of clothing which can help us to paint the College blue for the day. Do it for Dolly Day aims to promote and spread messages of kindness and build awareness around bullying and its enormous impact.

With that in mind and knowing that not everyone we meet is as kind as they could or should be at times, please remember, “The only thing you can do about awful people is not be one of them” – Ian McKellen. Have a great week!

By Ms Taylor Quinn, Teacher Librarian

Esports 

Welcome to Term 2! We hope everyone had a restful holiday. Over the holidays, Assumption College students were still dedicated to representing our College at Esports, despite being on their break! We thank the three devoted students who attended and hope that they had an exciting time.

Books On The Screen

This term, our theme is Books on the Screen – where we will highlight books that have been turned into movies, TV shows and plays among other things. We hope this will encourage students to think about and maybe even pick up some of the books that their favourite movies and TV shows came from! We will also be exploring what books we would like to see on the screen and why. Stay tuned for activities and fun as we explore Books on the Screen!

Getting Ready For The Move

We are also still gearing up for the move to the new space as it grows ever closer. With even more sorting through old books, making sure everything is in its place, we are trying to make this process as seamless as possible. It has been wonderful to be able to rethink our resources, the layout, and the furniture in the library so that we can provide students with new and exciting ways to learn once we are in our new space. We would like to acknowledge all the students who offer to help in lunch times with sorting, culling, packing and moving.

Have a great start to the term and remember, if you don’t know where to go, come to the library!

By Jill Hume, Teacher

Southern Downs Youth Council Representatives

On Thursday, 18 April 2024, our Assumption College Southern Downs Youth Council Representatives attended the badge presentation ceremony at Warwick Town Hall. Year 10 students Eleanor Krueger, Emmaline Newley and Lachlan Corney were presented with their official badge and Southern Downs Youth Council vest by Deputy Mayor Sheryl Windle, with a number of Councillors also present at the official ceremony. Deputy Mayor Windle spoke to the students about positive leadership, and the importance of their contributions to the Southern Downs Regional Council as the Region’s youth representatives. We look forward to watching these three students embrace this role and be the College voice in the Region.