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By Mr Craig Frattini - Principal
There continues to be fantastic opportunities for growth at Assumption College. Today we concluded our Interhouse Athletics carnival, earlier in the week we had the Broncos Cup finals in Goondiwindi and next Monday we will present the first of our Pastoral Merit Awards. These awards have been introduced this year to recognise student achievement and involvement in different domains of the college, Academic and Digital Technologies, Faith and Social Justice, Sport and Cultural. Students apply to receive this award which has three levels, Bronze, Silver and Gold. The criteria for these awards are as follows:
Level Applied for:
- BRONZE – Must have a minimum of 1 Academic Achievement and 1 Involvement in at least two other domains.
- SILVER - Must have a minimum of 2 Academic Achievement and 2 Involvement in at least two other domains.
- GOLD - Must have a minimum of 3 Academic Achievement and 3 Involvement in at least two other domains.
Students will be awarded with badges and certificates recognising their efforts and the positive contribution they are making to the life of the College.
Finally, I would like to take the opportunity to thank the students, staff, parents and Warwick community for being so welcoming and supportive of me and of my family. Having been at the college for over ten years I have watched both of my children grow and flourish with the opportunities given to them from St Mary’s, Assumption and from the broader Warwick community. It has been an amazing journey for me at Assumption, personally and professionally. Whilst I look forward to becoming a part of a new community at Burdekin Catholic High School, I will look back with fond memories of the many experiences that I have had at Assumption. For me, I take great solace in the many connections with friends, colleagues and above all the students. That is why we become teachers, to be compassionate, to have patience, to gain understanding of young people and above all to see them grow into successful adults who make a contribution to our society.
“Sometimes the greatest difference you can make is passing your wisdom, experience, or encouragement on to someone who will make an even bigger difference in the years to come.” Dan Zadra
Have a lovely week.
Craig
By Mrs Carol Sharp, APRE
Curriculum News
Students should by now, have finished their assessment tasks for RE and commenced their new unit for next term. Please note that classes will continue as normal for the remainder of the term and if students are absent because they believe that they will not be missing anything, they are mistaken. The beginning of any unit of study usually contains a significant amount of content and if students are away over the final week of the term, they will start next term having to catch up on all that content. This policy is relevant to all curriculum areas, not just the RE department.
Real Talk
On Wednesday, June 26, Year 7 and Year 9 students will be involved in Real Talk seminars. According to the Real Talk organisation they are ‘an organisation that is all about getting REAL on the topics of sex, relationships and personal identity. Based on Catholic Christian values, Real Talk provides up-to-date resources, presentations and programs that help young people to understand God’s amazing plan for love and life.’
Presentations are age-appropriate and designed to ‘complement and not replace, the present instruction of your children’ (Cf: Familiaris Consortio, 37). Year 7 students will be involved in periods 1 and 2 and Year 9 students will have a whole group session in periods 3 and 4 and a split session of boys only and girls only in periods 5 and 6. For more information on these sessions please refer to the detailed note that was given to your child this week or the Real Talk website www.realtalkaustralia.com. If you have any concerns please contact me via email on carol.sharp@twb.catholic.edu.au or by phone on 4660 4000.
Reflection
Compassion is being with.
Let us not underestimate how hard it is to be compassionate. Compassion is hard because it requires the inner disposition to go with others to the place where they are weak, vulnerable, lonely, and broken. But this is not our spontaneous response to suffering. What we desire most is to do away with suffering by fleeing from it or finding a quick cure for it. As busy, active, relevant [people], we want to earn our bread by making a real contribution. This means first and foremost doing something to show that our presence makes a difference. And so we ignore our greatest gift, which is our ability to enter into solidarity with those who suffer. . . .
Those who can sit with their fellow man, not knowing what to say but knowing that they should be there, can bring new life into a dying heart. Those who are not afraid to hold a hand in gratitude, to shed tears of grief, and to let a sigh of distress arise straight from the heart can break through paralysing boundaries and witness the birth of a new fellowship, the fellowship of the broken.
This reflection was written by Henri Nouwen, priest, author and respected professor, Nouwen wrote 39 books on the spiritual life. His free daily reflections are available at https://henrinouwen.org/resources/daily-meditation/
A Prayer of Compassion by Mother Theresa
Lord, open our eyes,
that we may see you in our brothers and sisters.
Lord, open our ears,
that we may hear the cries of the hungry,
the cold, the frightened, the oppressed.
Lord, open our hearts,
that we may love each other as you love us.
Renew in us your spirit.
Lord, free us and make us one.
Amen
By Ms Eliza Harris - Acting Assistant Principal - Curriculum
ASSESSMENT
As we come to conclusion of another peak assessment period, I would like to thank our dedicated staff team for the care and support they have provided our students in striving for their learning goals for this semester. This time of term can be trying for students, parents and staff as we balance the multitude of responsibilities and pressures that it brings. As our College reflects on Semester One, we celebrate the many successes and personal achievements of students who have given their best and been rewarded richly for their efforts. In the last few days of this period I urge you to support each other in meeting the final few deadlines and continue to work towards your personal best.
YEAR 12 QCS STUDENTS
All Year 12 OP-Eligible students will complete a full day Mighty Minds workshop on Tuesday of Week 10, June 25th. These workshops are invaluable for students sitting the QCS test and it is an expectation that students attend all facets of the College QCS program, any absences during this workshop or the practice QCS test days must be proactively reported to Mrs Kristy Searson (Senior Program Leader). This workshop and the subsequent practice testing days are the best preparation and opportunity to perform as well as possible for the upcoming QCS test. The QCS practice tests will occur on Wednesday 26th and Thursday 27th June. Please encourage all Year 12 OP-Eligible students to prepare fully for these practice dates and to bring their 6th Edition Pathways to Success textbook and appropriate stationary as well as any questions they may have.
QCS
The state-wide QCS test will be held on Tuesday 3rd September and Wednesday 4th September. It is imperative that these days are not interrupted by absence or appointment as this can have significant implications for student results. Please mark these dates on your calendar and keep them in mind when scheduling appointments in coming weeks.
END OF SEMESTER REPORTS
We are busily finalising our reporting cycle for this Semester and again I would like to extend my thanks to staff for their ongoing and concerted efforts in this process. These reports are compiled to reflect the students’ fullest range of application and ability at this stage of their learning. For our senior students these results are a strong indication of future success in subject domains and senior pathways and can have significant implications for the attainment of the Queensland Certificate of Education (QCE) and OP or ATAR scores. I encourage parents and families to actively discuss these results with your students and to not hesitate in contacting the subject teacher or Senior Program Leader, Mrs Kristy Searson, to discuss further support and options as we move into semester two.
UPCOMING DATES
Week Two of Term Three, July 23rd is our next round of Parent-Teacher Interviews and I strongly encourage parent and student attendance on this date as these conversations are integral in supporting students to reach their learning goals. Should you be unable to attend on this date, please don’t hesitate to contact your student’s teacher and they will happily accommodate an alternate arrangement. The 24th of July is also our next Senior Information Night for Grade 11 Students of 2020, current Grade 10 students and their parents are strongly encouraged to attend. This evening will provide a comprehensive overview of the subjects offered for Grade 11, 2020 here at Assumption and will allow both students and parents to engage with the curriculum leaders and teachers of these subjects and courses. These valuable conversations are necessary for both Grade 10 students and parents prior to finalising subject selections for Grade 11-12 during our SET Plan process on August 12th and 13th.
By Mrs Alison Porter, Program Leader Careers & Vocational Education
Noteworthy items:
- Year 10, 11 and 12 students interested in agriculture should consider attending the Ag Inspirations tour (see below for more information)
- Date claimer: Tertiary Studies Expo and Qld Work and Skills Expo in Brisbane, 20th and 21st of July.
Rural and Agricultural Pathways
Students interested in rural and agricultural pathways and careers should consider attending the Ag Inspirations career awareness program currently on offer through AgForce Queensland. The program aims to raise awareness of the wide variety of career options within agriculture in areas such as biosecurity, agronomy, robotic farming, banking, purchasing, transport and logistics. It will involve students from Years 10-12 visiting multiple enterprises; spending about two hours at each location learning about the business and the skills required for the various tasks involved. The program will run over three days, 22nd to 24th of July. Information regarding this will be provided to students. Those students who may be interested, should let me know as soon as possible and register their interest as places in the program are limited.
Year 10 Work Experience
Year 10 students can complete work experience this year in the last week of Term 3 (17th to 21st of September). Year 10 classes will not run in that week in the hope that all students attend work experience. The aim of such work experience is to give students the opportunity to develop their employability skills and their understanding of the world of work and career pathways. Year 10 students this week and next are participating in sessions at school that outline the process involved in organising work experience and approaching organisations. They will also be provided with a work experience pack that includes a letter and information for parents about the College work experience program. Students themselves are encouraged to approach organisations and have been provided with a letter of introduction to use when talking to local employers. Any students who are unsure about the process can refer to the tips provided in school sessions and in the booklet provided to them and are welcome to see me also. Please note that if any students are looking for placement at a local school or with local council, they have been advised to let me know and do not need to make their request directly to these organisations. I am hoping that work experience placements and agreement forms are completed by early Term 3.
For more careers information, tips and news please view with careers newsletter that is regularly emailed to Year 10, 11 and 12 students or view it online at www.acwcareers.com.
By Mrs Julie Collins - Program Leader Sport
Hockey
Assumption entered two teams in the Inter School Hockey Competition this year. The finals were held last Friday evening – ACW 1 defeated WSHS 1 in the grand final.
Congratulations to Mackenzie Rutledge who was awarded player of the championship.
Congratulations to all team members for your participation in the competition.
A huge thank you to Michelle Eastwell who was able to manage the teams each week, your support is most appreciated.
Foxtel Bronco’s School Challenge - Football
Round 2 of the Bronco’s Cup competition saw the ACW A Grade and B Grade sides spend the day out in Goondiwindi for a few matches and finals. The A Grade team were met with losses to two very formidable teams to start off their day, Warwick State High School and Goondiwindi State High School. They had to play an in-form St Texwood team in the final and they came out with a good team win for 3rd place in the tournament. The B Grade team had a great day, winning 3 matches in a row and playing Stanthorpe State High School in the final. They unfortunately went down to a motivated opponent but still placed a very respectable 4th.
Congratulations to Daniel Fischer and Lachlan Collins who were both given player of their respective finals. Overall, the boys played very hard for their school and showed good spirit throughout.
Foxtel Bronco’s School Challenge - Netball
ACW netball travelled to Goondiwindi with 37 girls all in finals contention. Throughout the day outstanding sportsmanship and physical talent was displayed as the playoffs quickly approached. A grade netballers won one game and were defeated by Stanthorpe and Warwick State High in the other games. A play off for 3rd was a hot contested game against Goondiwindi State High which resulted in a loss. B grade netball was the talk of the day when ACW 1 & 2 went head to head. Agility and speed were the determining factors when it came down to the wire with ACW 2 snagging the win at the buzzer. ACW 1 played great netball and continued to improve their skills throughout the day. In the play off for 5th ACW defeated Warwick High. The undefeated ACW 2 played off in the B grade cup final for 1st place but were defeated by Goondiwindi. Congratulations to those girls for a tremendous effort throughout the tournament. C grade netball was a great experience for the year 7’s to represent their school. The girls demonstrated persistency and determination throughout the day to finish with 2 wins and a loss in the round games. The final play off was the highlight of the day, as they gelled together as a team and finished in fifth place defeating Killarney State School. Special mention the Grace Ball for player of the final. Congratulations to all girls.
Junior Cricket - Darling Downs School Cup
UNDEFEATED! The ACW Junior boys cricket team polished off the perfect season with their win against Downlands College. ACW 3 for 155 (Morgan Bourke 74, Tom Doherty 45) def Downlands (Morgan Bourke 3/12, Laura Shiewe 2/19, Zane Brown 2/15).
Congratulations on an outstanding season.
RUGBY LEAGUE
The ACW Opens Rugby League team play Dalby SHS in the Darling Downs (Johnathon Thurston Trophy) grand final this Wednesday the 26th of June, after defeating St Joseph’s Toowoomba 20 – 14 in the semi-finals. We also wish the boys a great week at confraternity in the 1st week of the holidays.
1. Jayden Lippi
2. Lachlan Mahoney
3. Sam Ogden
4. Zachary Beckwith
5. Ben Fischer
6. Jack Duggan
7. Nicholas Carrie
8. Wilson LeSueur
9. Thomas Spence
10. Nathaniel Ryan
11. Sean Bryson
12. Jacob Meddleton
13. Thomas Bell
14. Hayden Doherty
15. Luke Hauff
16. Ethan LeSueur
17. Augustus McDade
18. Jarrod Millard
19. Daniel McViegh
20. Ryley Lever
21. Morgan Byrne
Connor Murphy (Manager)
SPORTS CALENDAR
By Mrs Jenny Gillespie
16 Years+ Free Mental Health Support - NewAccess Program developed by Beyond Blue
Did you know?
We are now delivering NewAccess across the Darling Downs & West Moreton region. NewAccess is a free program developed by Beyond Blue to help people tackle life pressures. Recently, our NewAccess team was trained to adapt the program for young people and is now accepting young people aged 16+.
We are now taking referrals
If you are working with young people aged 16+, who are going through a tough time, consider referring them to see one of our NewAccess coaches.
NewAccess coaches can help with:
- anxiety or uncertainty
- health problems
- work stress
- relationship or family issues
- long-term isolation or loneliness
- financial worries
- or sleep deprivation.
How does it work?
NewAccess coaches are trained and experienced to help people set practical goals to get their lives back on track. The program includes six free sessions with a NewAccess coach. Sessions are flexibly delivered via face-to-face or telehealth modalities, including but not limited to Skype and Facetime. In ensuring young people always feel comfortable, we welcome a supportive parent or guardian to attend for support if needed.
Where are we located?
Lives Lived Well NewAccess coaches are located at
- 54 Grafton Street, Warwick QLD 4370
- 14 Crescent Street, Gatton QLD 4343
- 28B Nicholson Street, Dalby QLD 4405
- 95 Youngman Street, Kingaroy QLD 4610
We also provide telehealth services across to all residents across the Southern & Western Downs, Lockyer Valley, South Burnett and Goondiwindi Regional Council areas
How can I refer someone?
An online self-referral can be completed at www.liveslivedwell.org.au/newaccess or alternatively a call can be made to 1300 971 309 or email newaccess@liveslivedwell.org.au with the young person’s consent.
Lives Lived Well is a not-for-profit support organisation with services across Queensland and regional NSW.
Need more information?
Please visit https://www.beyondblue.org.au/get-support/newaccess or see the attached information sheet.
Still have queries? Please give us a call - 1300 971 309
By Mrs Mary-Anne Driver
Mrs Collins took on all in the library last week in a hotly contested game of connect 4. Thomas is slightly ahead in the tally, but there are lots of practice games happening so we can sharpen our skills!
During study week the library has been a quiet space, still plenty of students enjoying the warmth and finding activities to keep them occupied. We did finish the jigsaw, a joint effort over many breaks!
We have also been holding skill lessons on our new library management system, making it much easier for students to access not only our library resources, but also online resources that we subscribe to. We have received some very positive comments from students about this system and we look forward to increasing students’ knowledge about how easy it is to find good information.
Our new web browser can be viewed here https://au.accessit.online/ASS01/
By Mr Scott Clegg - Business Manager
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 5 - 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 2019. This will ensure delivery to the correct parent email addresses are available.
On Monday the 29 July 2019, RADII will send all parents a personalized 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, 11 August 2019 for parents.
We encourage you to be very honest in your responses to the surveys. 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.
Australian Stock Exchange
In the Australian Stock Exchange game for schools which ended recently, all students were given an imaginary $50,000 to invest in the ASX and prices with gains were calculated in real time.
At Assumption College we had 134 of our students actively participating by investing the imaginary money in the stock market. This game does real time trades and calculates all profits and losses in your portfolio, as if you were an actual investor.
We have been very fortunate to have Pauline Pickering, the director of Globe Accounting, sponsor monetary prizes for our students and this keeps the levels of interest high. Pauline’s sponsorship is much appreciated.
Technical analysis, where you study the graphs of the stocks you want to buy, is a fine real world example of applied Mathematics and many of our students did a great job of purchasing the shares and then trading their way to profits.
Our winners for semester one 2019 were:
1 Benjamin Guy $58,274
2 Georgina Buchan $53,751
3 Jarrod Millard $52,437
Some interesting statistics to come from the competition were:
62 students made money out of 134 actively playing
The lowest scores were not below $45,000 which is quite good considering it is the first time for many students.
Ben Guy's $58,274 ranked 11th in Queensland and 51st in the Australia and International Schools competition.
Congratulations to the above students and to all 134 students who participated.
CLASS REUNION
The Senior class of 1969 (and all classes from Year 8 in 1965 up to Year 12 in 1969) is holding a reunion. All former class members are invited to Café Jacqui’s, Albion Street, Warwick, for lunch on SATURDAY 12 October, 2019. Contact: Lynne Packer (formerly Butler). Email: landrpacker@bigpond.com or phone: 0402 791 281.
St Vincent De Paul Warwick EOFY Sale
Vinnies Warwick Open
SUNDAY 23rd June
10am till 2pm
Grafton Street Store
Fill a bag book sale
Sidewalk sale &
Instore Sale BUY 2
get a 3rd one FREE
Home Energy Emergency Assistance Scheme
We have been made aware of a Queensland Government Assistance Scheme that is currently available in our region and we thought that it was worth sharing in our local community. The link to the website and further details follow below;
The Home Energy Emergency Assistance Scheme:
- is for Queensland households experiencing problems paying their electricity or reticulated natural gas bills as a result of an unforeseen emergency or a short-term financial crisis
- is one-off emergency assistance to help with paying your home energy bills
- pays up to $720 once every 2 years.
Eligibility
To be eligible you must be responsible for paying the outstanding bill (the bill does not need to be in your name) and meet one of the following:
- hold a current concession card, or
- have an income equal to or less than the Australian Government’s maximum income rate for part-age pensioners. Contact Centrelink for details of the maximum income rate.
- be part of your energy retailer’s hardship program or payment plan.
Full eligibility details, including the types of emergency situations you might get help for, are available from your energy retailer or participating financial counselling service.
How to apply
For more information, or to apply, contact your energy retailer. They will start the application process after considering all the eligibility criteria.
Helpful resources
- Medical Cooling and Heating Electricity Concession Scheme provides concessions for people who have specific medical conditions requiring the use of an air-conditioner to regulate their body temperature.
- Electricity and gas rebates are available to eligible households.
