By Mrs Liisa Hammond, Principal 

Pentecostal Sunday  

Last newsletter, I explored the role of the Holy Spirit in regard to being Jesus’ Advocate on earth. This Sunday was Pentecost Sunday - a day commemorating the descension of the Holy Spirit onto the apostles, which officially signals the end of the liturgical season of Easter. 

This year, Pope Francis asks us to recognise that the Holy Spirit is that voice inside us that “… urges us never to lose heart and always to start over again.” Furthermore, Pope Francis reveals that the Holy Spirit motivates us to “Get Up! … by jumping in, without waiting for someone else, and by spreading hope and joy, and not complaints …”. 

These words remind me of Rudyard Kipling’s poem, ‘If’, a poem utilised at various times to recognise significant moments, be it valedictory graduations, appointment ceremonies, or funerals. Let’s ignore the obvious contextually referenced gender bias within the poem and focus on the imagery evoked by, “… If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew// To serve your turn long after they are gone, //And so hold on when there is nothing in you//Except the Will which says to them: ‘Hold on!’”

For Pentecostal Sunday, the ‘Will’ (note the capitalisation of the word, thereby creating it into a proper noun) in Kipling’s poem is the Holy Spirit. It is that ‘fire in the belly’ that ignites passion and determination to achieve. It is the intrinsic motivation that we want every student to develop so that they can strive to do more and be more. 

Over the past weeks, I have had cause to congratulate many of our community members, including staff, students, and other stakeholders, on their willingness to strive for success and improvement. Be it on the sporting field or court, in the classrooms, or simply in how they choose to engage in respectful relationships with peers. If we were ever to question if the Holy Spirit was with us, then all it takes is a walk through our College grounds, where I have the privilege of witnessing Pope Francis’s call to spread hope and joy – through truth and love. 

Listening Forums

So far, we have held Years 12, 11, 10, 8 and 7 Listening Forums. The topics have been varied; however, common themes are being drawn from each conversation: 

• The impact of COVID 19 on our students’ learning and social-emotional development
• Staffing shortages and changes
• Uniforms
• Subject choices
• Facilities and resources

These are only a few of the topics raised. Once we have completed all Listening Forums for Term 2, we will be compiling a report to ensure that our Term 3 Listening Forums are focused on the issues raised to inform our new strategic plan. 

I would like to thank the several staff members who gave their time to attend these sessions, particularly Amanda Stevens (Curriculum Leader – Humanities), for her attendance and judicious notetaking. I am looking forward to the start of our conversation with Year 9 parents/guardians tomorrow. 

Year 12 Academic Interviews

ELT members, PALs, and Curriculum Leaders have and are currently conducting Academic Interviews for our Year 12 students. These interviews are designed to discuss the tracking of the young person’s latest subject results, their current trajectory for the attainment of a Queensland Certificate of Education – which demonstrates successful completion of their 13 years (on average) of schooling, a discussion of their possible attainment of an Australian Tertiary Admission Rank (ATAR) – if applicable, and their successful attainment of any Certificate courses they have selected to undertake. 

Most importantly, these conversations review the student’s current short-term and long-term goals. These conversations are important checkpoints in the learning journeys of our senior students. As they move into their final semester with us, many exciting opportunities are coming up for them, including applications to universities, TAFE courses, and employment. 

I would like to thank the Careers Department for their work in this area, Michael Simpson, Ali Porter, and Karla Bacon. Their dedication to the success of our young people is truly inspiring. 

Child Protection – it's everyone’s business

Every year, each College staff member undertakes Code of Conduct and Child Protection courses. We are committed to ensuring the safety and security of every member of our community. When things become challenging, we seek to support our students and families to ensure that our entire community can thrive. 

We have several Child Protection Officers available to you and your child on our staff. Our Child Protection Officers are Michael Simpson, Jenny Gillespie, Natalie Smith, Julie Collins, and myself, Liisa Hammond. 

Please note that all our staff are trained to respond effectively and efficiently to any incident or issue that may result in your child requiring assistance and support to ensure their safety. 

May Our Mother Mary grant her blessings upon our College community.  

By Ms Natalie Smith, Acting Deputy Principal

Years 7 & 8 Retreat and UPP Day

Years 7 and 8 attended their Retreat and UPP Day. This day consisted of a half day devoted to a spiritual retreat, run by Mrs Carol Sharp (APRE), where students explored how they are made in the image and likeness of God. For the other half of the day, they participated in a workshop presented by Peter and Corey from UPP – Unleashing your Personal Potential, in which they explored concepts related to developing a “growth mindset”. One of the lessons is summarised below:

“We all have different things that we are currently good at and bad at. Being good at something or bad at something right now does not mean that we can never change that. If we work at our weak or strong areas, we can improve. If we don't work at our weak or strong areas, we almost certainly won't improve. It's not about how weak or strong, smart, or dumb you are right now - it's about being focused on improving, learning, and growing. That's the main idea behind growth mindset - understand that growth and change is quite likely - when we do the work to improve.”

Growth mindsets. (n.d.). Unleashing Personal Potential. Retrieved June 6, 2022, from https://www.unleashingpersonalpotential.com.au/gm1-22

Opportunities for Camps for Years 9 & 10 in Term 4, 2022

Some parents have expressed interest in students travelling to Canberra as they have been able to in the past. However, while the borders have opened to travel, the College has made the decision not to commit to travelling interstate with students during 2022.  We hope that the Canberra tour may return to being an option for students again in the future. In the meantime, we are excited to announce the following opportunities in 2022 for students in Years 9 & 10.

Year 9 Camp opportunity

We are excited to announce that the Year 9 cohort will travel to Moreton Bay and explore North Stradbroke Island for three days in Term 4.  More details about this exciting opportunity will follow early in Term 3.

Year 10 Camp opportunity - Term 4.

We are also excited to announce that the Year 10 cohort will be travelling to the Capricorn region for three nights in Term 4, dates 4 – 7 October, 2022.  Thank you to all those year 10 parents who responded so positively to the initial expression of interest survey sent out last week.  We are aware that the Year 10 cohort have missed several opportunities to travel during the past two years due to the restrictions put in place during the pandemic, so we are pleased to announce this trip.  More details will follow early in Term 3.

Year 11 Leadership

As mentioned in the previous newsletter, the application process to select the student leaders for 2023 is underway. The Year 11 students have received details of the various leadership roles available. We encourage students to seriously consider these leadership positions and put in their application. Applications close in Week 9, Monday 13 June, 2022 at 3.00pm.

With only 2 weeks of Term 2 left, students can see the light at the end of the tunnel, when it comes to their assessment.  The June - July holidays will soon be upon us, but I encourage all students to remain focused on their learning and not engage in silly low-level behaviours that can escalate into more serious incidents. Please do not hesitate to contact your student’s Pastoral Care teacher or PAL should you have any concerns about your child’s wellbeing.

By Mr Michael Simpson, Assistant Principal Curriculum

Year 12 Academic Program - Term Two and Three

Term 2 - Weeks 9 - 10

Students will be busy learning new content for Unit 4.

Term 3 – Weeks 1 - 6

Internal Assessment (IA) and final confirmation

Year 12 students studying General subjects will be completing their final unit of work by Week 5 of Term 3. The provisional results for the IA2 and IA3 need to be uploaded to the QCAA by Week 6. This involves teachers from schools across Queensland checking student work to ensure consistency of results. As this is the final internal assessment for these subjects, it is essential that students continue to work over the holidays and maintain the already impressive standards into the beginning of next term. Throughout this term’s academic interviews, it was emphasised that “every mark counts” towards the ATAR calculation; therefore, it is imperative that students make the most of teacher support.

Term 3 – Weeks 7 - 10

Mock exam prep and examination

Following the finalisation of Unit 4, Year 12 students studying General subjects will start preparing for their mock exams which commence in Week 9 of Term 3. It is essential that the students prepare for these examinations as they would for the real external exams. The more effort the students put in, the more quality feedback they will receive from their teachers. This whole process is vital for identifying key weakness areas within the content so students can formulate a targeted approach to their learning. During the exam block, all Year 12 students will be able to stay home and only attend school for the exams. They will need to sign in each day and wear their full school uniform. The mock exam timetable will be released early next term.

By Mrs Carol Sharp, Assistant Principal Religious Education

Year Level Masses

The final year level Mass for the semester is the Year 7 Mass, scheduled to occur on Tuesday, June 14. We begin again with a new round of Masses next semester. A reminder for students to assemble in the breezeway at 8.35 am to have their names marked off the roll, ready to walk to Mass at 8.45 am.

Years 7 & 8 Retreat

Recently, our Years 7 and 8 students were involved in a retreat day held here at the College. For the Year 7s, the day was designed to build their understanding of what it means to be made in the image and likeness of God and how that challenges each of us to live our lives to the full. The emphasis in the Year 8 retreat was on the Holy Spirit and the gifts provided by the Spirit to help us overcome the challenges that life throws at us. These spiritual retreats were held in conjunction with sessions from Unleashing Personal Potential, an organisation that works with schools to develop students’ growth mindset, grit, and determination when learning.

Students had a fun-filled day with plenty of opportunities for real-life lessons and reflection on who they are and how they will meet the challenges they will, no doubt, face as they grow. And, of course, there was plenty of pizza to share for lunch. Thank you to all the students for your engagement on the day, to Mrs Natalie Smith for her organisation of the Unleashing Personal Potential sessions, to the Years 7 and 8 teachers for their participation on the day and to our College Chaplain, Miss Denise Ryan, for her support in delivering engaging games and activities on the day.

Founders’ Day

We will celebrate our second annual Founder's Day on the last day of this term. While this day is a fun way to spend the final day of semester together, building community and encouraging attendance, it also has a vital role to play in developing our understanding of who our founders were and the gifts of faith they have left for us. With a unique combination of three founders, Assumption College has many gifts for which to be thankful. Our focus this year is on cultural diversity and harmony and how working towards this brings the liberation of Edmund Rice, the empowerment of Catherine McAuley and the nurturing spirituality of Our Lady of the Assumption.

The day will begin with a Mass celebrated in Assumption Hall. There will also be games held in year level groups, Indigenous games, NAIDOC dancers, a smoking ceremony and didgeridoo players. While sometimes it is tempting to let your child stay at home on days where there are no formal classes, all students are expected to attend. Days like Founders’ Day allow for students to make important and meaningful connections with their school community, peers, and teachers. These connections, along with the realisation of the vision and mission of the school, can only provide positive outcomes for the learning that occurs in the classroom.

ACW Thrift Store

Donations continue to roll in for the ACW Thrift Store. With the Thrift Store opening on the last day of term, Founders’ Day, you still have plenty of time to bring in your unwanted, good quality clothes. Please donate and encourage our community members to avoid the fast fashion trends that have such a negative impact on our environment and on the most vulnerable members of the global community.

Prayer

This week’s prayer was distributed to Pastoral Care classes so that we can pray together for the people of Ukraine. It is important to realise that prayer is action. By combining our collective voices in prayer to God, we are working to help bring the crisis in Ukraine to an end.

Prayer For Ukraine

O Lord our God, look down with mercy on the Ukrainian people. Protect and save them from the unjust aggressors who seek to subdue them. Grant them steadfast trust in your mercy and protection.

O Mother of God, who gave us your miraculous icon at Zarvanytsia, intercede for the Ukrainian people, who run to the shelter of your mercy in their times of need.

O Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on us. Grant peace and protection to the people of Ukraine. Give them strength and courage to defend what is good, right, and holy. Keep them safe from harm and provide for all their needs, both temporal and spiritual.

Hear our prayers, O Lord, and deliver us from distress, for You are merciful and compassionate and love all people. To You we give glory: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, now and forever and ever. Amen.

Prayer written by Carrie Chuff, a Ukrainian Greek Catholic mother. 

https://www.catholicicing.com/catholic-prayer-for-ukraine-printable/

For more information on the icon at Zarvanytsia in Ukraine please click this link.

By Miss Denise Ryan, College Chaplain

“If you use kind words, you will hear kind echoes”

As we enter the final weeks of the term, everyone is extremely busy with assignments and studying for exams. When we get caught up in all the “boxes” that need to be ticked and assessment that needs to be done, we tend to forget about the other people around us and how they may be dealing with these external stresses as well.

We tend to forget to exercise our empathy skills when the pressure is building in our own world, and it can be hard to stop and breathe and then continue on. I have found a nice quote that highlights the importance of empathy. It is important that while our children’s worlds may be like a pressure cooker at the moment, we remind them to be empathic and remind them they are not alone, everyone is striving to get through the same things. Remind your child that they are always able to ask for assistance or guidance if they are struggling with assessment.

“Empathy enables our children to see things from another person’s perspective. Without empathy, young people won’t be able to see things from their friends', siblings' or parents' perspective.”

The Breakfast Club

Just a reminder that the Breakfast Club table is now in full swing with plenty of old faces and new ones making the most of what is offered to the students. For those who are unaware, on Monday, Wednesday and Friday mornings, from 7:30 am to 8:40 am, there is a table in front of our Hospitality classroom where students can enjoy the following:

Toast - Vegemite, jam, honey etc.

Cereal

Juice (in Summer)

and last, but most certainly not least, MILO! (Options for hot or cold depending on seasons and weather).

Have a fantastic week everyone!

By Mr Thomas Duggan, Sports Coordinator

Interschool Basketball

Assumption College hosted the week 7 round of the Interschool Basketball competition and took on St Joseph’s School, Stanthorpe.

Our Junior girls had a great victory with one of our players stepping in at the last minute to lend a hand. Our Senior boys had a double header and started strong with a nail-biting game and took home a win against the Senior boys of St Joseph’s team by only 1 point! They lost their second game to Warwick High School, but played well together and had fun. One of the senior boys even had to wear a teacher’s basketball shoes because they thought they could play in converse. He, of course, knew he had big shoes to fill, but he was up for it.

The Junior boys fought hard in their game and came close to a win towards the end but unfortunately lost to St Joseph’s.

Broncos Cup - Rugby League

On Wednesday 1 June 2022, the ACW Broncos Rugby League and Netball teams travelled to Stanthorpe for the final Gala day of the Broncos Cup Challenge. The conditions were far from desirable as we experienced Stanthorpe Winter weather.

Our B Grade Rugby League team arrived determined to play finals footy and they proved this in their first game against St Joseph’s College where we came away with the win 16-8. The team defended incredibly well, especially Tommy Beresford and Aiden Byrne in the middle. In attack, Cooper Murray led the team around nicely and was able to craft some nice team tries. This win secured our spot in the 1^st versus 2^nd grand final against Goondiwindi SHS.

The team was determined and motivated to play their best footy in this match which they were able to do in the first half as we were up 12-0. This lead was earned on the back of some very strong defence by the entire team as well as an attacking masterclass by our lock forward Tommy Beresford. The second half was a nail biting 20 minutes of footy with Goondiwindi clawing back 12 points which made the score 12-12 at full time.

This meant that the game had to go into extra time. Some individual brilliance from one of Goondiwindi’s players saw Goondiwindi steal the win from a chip and chase. As a coach, I was incredibly proud of this team as the members played some very impressive football and displayed great fairplay and have made the College proud. Congratulations to Tommy Beresford who was awarded as our best by The Brisbane Broncos representatives who watched the final.

The A grade side ended up finishing third overall at Stanthorpe with a convincing win over Stanthorpe SHS. Leading up to this final, the team came up against St Joseph’s and posted a solid win. This was done through some strong performances from forwards Tom Blake and Toby Spiller as well as hooker Kihan Marshall.

The boys then came up against a strong Allora/Clifton/Killarney team that proved too good for the Assumption outfit. Unfortunately, this loss forced us out of the Grand Final and landed us in the play off for third place.

During this match, we were able to dominate Stanthorpe SHS with another man of the match performance by Kihan Marshall and some great attack led by Josh Collins and Max Doyle. This team played very well for a young side playing against older opposition teams and will be a force to be reckoned with next year. Congratulations to Kihan who was awarded man of the match by Brisbane Broncos representatives.

Bronco's Cup - Netball 

The C Grade team had a very enjoyable day despite not being able to feel their hands due to the extremely cold conditions. The girls placed sixth overall out of thirteen teams which is a commendable achievement. These girls were able to experience playing a vast variety of positions due to some players being unavailable due to COVID. The girls never complained about playing in positions they wouldn’t normally play and demonstrated great fairplay the entire day. Well done Girls!

The ACW B team played well on Wednesday especially considering the difficulty surrounding the weather in Stanthorpe. Our B team was successful in three out of four games where exceptional strategies and play tactics were used by all girls. The girls won their first match convincingly. The girls were also strong in the second and third games to come away with wins. Overall, after competing in the finals against Goondiwindi State High School, our girls came second with a final score of 23 to 13.  The B team showed both complimentary ball skills and shooting skills. Strategies were discussed around playing offence which the girls implemented thus enabling this great result. Well done to all who played and we look forward to next year’s competition.

The A grade team finished fourth overall which is a very commendable effort as we took away a young and inexperienced team in nasty conditions. The girls all played very well over the two Gala Days and will have gained some valuable experience and developed their skills which will be of benefit in future years. St Joseph’s Stanthorpe proved too good in the final to defeat the A grade Assumption College team 23-15 in the final.

We wish to congratulate Ella Hagenbach, Taylor Eastwell and Mackenzie Rutledge who all competed at the 2022 Hockey State Championships last week at the Gold Coast. Well done girls, the College is very proud of your efforts!

By Mrs Mary-Anne Driver, Library Aide

The colder weather brings more students indoors to enjoy the library hub: games, activities, jigsaws and sometimes just a spot on the carpet to enjoy each other’s company!

We had quite a number of students doing bead work and some interesting fingerprint pictures as well. Chess is our activity on Fridays, but we find a chess board is out most days and students are gathered around discussing (or being told not to discuss?) moves.

In the library, we are already looking at Term 3 work to ensure we have the resources students might need to help with assignments. Dashboards will be made as a springboard to further resources available both in house and online. You can check out the dashboards made for this term on our website portal. Go to: https://au.accessit.online/ASS01

We asked the students how we can help Be Brave and Make Change after Reconciliation week. As always, our students came up with some pertinent answers!

Esports Excursion

On Friday, our Esports team, led by Mr Fern and Miss Quinn, braved the cold and the early morning bus ride, venturing off to QUT in Brisbane city for the second time. The team fought valiantly beginning the day with Rocket League, then moving on to Overwatch and League of Legends. While many fierce games were happening, those who were not playing had the opportunity to try their hand at casting and spectating on the QUT livestream to explain and show what was happening to viewers online. Some even had the opportunity to moderate the livestream chat and at one point, ‘time out’ an excited viewer who was commenting too much.

It was a lot of fun and a fantastic opportunity to practise not only students’ gaming skills but also their online safety skills as they listened to informative tips from the organisers. Against Sheldon College, Faith Lutheran College Redlands and Mountain Creek State High School, Assumption placed third; a wonderful result for our first time playing against other schools. Congratulations to all the students involved for your brilliant efforts!

First Nations Reconciliation Day and Flag Raising Ceremony 

On 30 May, 2022 Assumption College and St Mary's held our first joint Roconciliation Day at Assumption College. 

Our special guests included, Elder Sam Bonnor, Police Liason Officer Mady Bahr, Councillor Andrew Gale, and other fellow community guests.

Students, Cooper Murray, Hayden Kenny and Kirra-Lee Curtis raised the flag at the front of the College, before we moved our guests to St James Hall where we were addressed by our Principal, Mrs Liisa Hammond, and Councillor, Andrew Gale.

A special mention must go to one of our Githabul students, Kyanne Kearns, for delivering a moving speech to our audience. 

We wish to extend our appreciation to all those involved.

Altitude Day

Miss Brackin and Mr Donnelly

On Monday 23 May, 2022, five students from Year 9 attended Altitude Day in Toowoomba. Altitude Day empowers Year 9 students to be positive leaders within their school and wider community. It gives them the opportunity to network with students from other schools, in their region, and be inspired by young leaders who are doing incredible things in our world.

This experience gives them the confidence to be themselves, and the framework to turn their passions and goals into reality. Each student thoroughly enjoyed the day and represented the College exceptionally when interacting with other Year 9 students from various schools around the Darling Downs.

The key pieces of information that the students took from the day include the following quotes:

• Aspire, Acquire, and Take Action
• Don’t wait for someone else to do it, you take the action and do it
• You can achieve if you put your mind to it
• Limitless vision                                   

Year 7 Mathematics

Class 7D are studying angle rules this week. Today we tested the rules we have been learning to see if they do, indeed, work. And they do! Students used their math sets and learned the correct way to measure the size of an angle using their protractors.  We enjoyed learning about the practical side of mathematics.  Next week we will be hunting triangles!

Noosa Film Academy

I am looking for some more students to sign up to the Noosa Film Academy Workshop so that it can run next term. It is a one day workshop, Tuesday of Week 3 Term 3. Our presenters take the group through all the stages of developing an idea for a film, find the filming locations, casting, filming, acting, recording, editing, adding sound etc. to produce a short film. Students can learn so much about film and be able to apply it to a variety of assessment tasks across a range of subjects – or just for their own creative ends. There is no cost involved and this is the last opportunity for this organisation to visit us. So please, ask at the office for a form – and get your name on the list!

Art Display

The current art display of students' completed tasks include a Year 10 Impressionist painting experiment and final works from our Senior Art Students - one a series exploring ideas of abstraction and colour fields, the other when moved becomes a moving image of dance using the design of a zoetrope. (A zoetrope is one of several pre-film animation devices that produce the illusion of motion by displaying a sequence of drawings or photographs showing progressive phases of that motion). It is always enjoyable to see what our students can produce. As the term comes to an end, more work will be displayed as Year 9 complete their Environmental Unit and Year 10 complete their Modern Art Unit.

Term 4 – Territorial Theatre Performance- Year 7 & Year 8.

We had to cancel our Term 1 booking with the theatre performance about the transition from primary to secondary school called Territorial. I am pleased to announce that the performance has been rebooked for our Years 7 and 8 cohort for Term 4 on Thursday 6 October, 2022.

More information will be sent home to families closer to the date. We look forward to the students enjoying the performance and reflecting on whether it reflects “life” and to have some conversations with them about how they have settled into life at Assumption College and what they look forward to next year.

Assumption College P & F Meeting

Dear Parents / Guardians, please be advised today, Monday, 13 June 2022, the Assumption College P&F Association AGM Meeting will be held at the College. Everyone is welcome to attend. Should you wish to find out anything further, please do not hesitate to contact the College office on 07 4660 4000. Kind Regards, Assumption College P&F.                   

SDRC Media Release 

Junior Pickleball

Pickleball is the Hybrid mix of Tennis & Badminton where we play on a badminton sized court with a lower net and use a ball with similarities to a whiffle ball and it is hit with graphite paddles like those of ping pong paddles.

Pickleball is great sport for a junior that has experience in squash, badminton, tennis, or ping pong as it’s a fast reaction-based sport to improve volleys and basic shot play. You don’t even need to be a player in any of these sports though to learn and get some good intensity training. This is a fun sport for all to be involved in and would love to be involved.

Please feel free to reach out if you have any further questions. Alternatively registrations can be made via our Facebook page.