By Mrs Liisa Hammond, Principal

Luke 18: 9-14

This week, Luke's Gospel is important as it reveals a time when two men's prayers were answered. The Pharisee begins his prayers by thanking God that he isn't like other people who are sinners: "… God, I thank you that I am not like other people – robbers, evil-doers, adulterers …". The Tax Collector's prayers are for forgiveness and mercy, "… God, have mercy on me, a sinner". 

The Pharisee spends his entire prayer focused on how terrible everyone else is and how wonderful he is. In fact, the Pharisee uses the pronoun 'I' approximately five times whilst raising his face toward heaven. Conversely, the Tax Collector bows his head and recognises that his salvation lies in recognising his own sins and how his actions have led him to seek the Lord's forgiveness. 

At one time or another in our lives, we have come across the Pharisee. The Pharisee is someone who fails to recognise that humility does not mean that you are putting yourself down, but instead, you are being critically reflective; you offer yourself the chance to grow and become more than what you once were. The Pharisee raises himself to the status of the righteous and, by doing so, is, in fact, missing the point of prayer completely. 

This is why I believe this Gospel is an example of where God truly answers prayers. Jesus tells us, through Luke, that the Tax Collector was "justified" by God because he recognised his faults and acknowledged the need to do better. The Pharisee did not receive any blessings or assistance from God, as he did not ask for any; he blatantly stated he needed nothing from God as he was not like those other people. 

I equate this to when a member of our Assumption College community has the courage and feels safe enough to admit when they are wrong – and trust that those around us will find the strength to support us to do better. I often tell students that I do not mind if they make a poor choice; to err is to be human; however, what we do after we make a poor choice is what denotes the type of person we truly are. Humility and dignity do not need to be loud nor self-deprecating; it is the capacity to identify where we could do better and then strive to achieve it. 

Staff Showcase

Last week, I had the privilege of being an audience member as our staff presented a series of workshops that enlivened their professional learning goals for 2022. I know that we are blessed to have talented, contemporary, and hard-working staff; however, at times, when we are in the day-to-day workings of the College, we forget that our staff are truly inspirational. 

From high-quality teaching practices to data-informed narratives of student improvement, the story of 2022 reaches far beyond our volatile weather patterns and an influx of COVID. 2022 has been a transition year that, through the consistent effort of the teaching staff, will be one marked for success.

External Exams

With the introduction of a new Queensland Certificate of Education process in 2020, external examinations became a reality for our Year 12 students. This year we began our Year 12 examinations with an invitation to Father Bony to come to pray and bless our Year 12s. As he did so, he reminded our young people that whilst these examinations are important, they do not account for the continued growth of spirit and self of the students during their time at the College. 

As our Year 12s continue to study and demonstrate their knowledge and skills for a further two weeks, we know that the examination experience will become recognised as a celebration of the knowledge they have gained and the skills they have mastered. More importantly, we hope the examinations will be a soon-to-be memory that pales into insignificance compared to the positive relationships and joyous experiences they have had at Assumption College. 

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

By Mrs Anna Hardy, Deputy Principal

DAY FOR DANIEL

Friday 28 October

Held annually on the last Friday of October, Day for Daniel honours the memory of Daniel Morcombe. On this very special day we will wear red, educate and donate. The theme for 2022 is 'Brave Conversations'.

Day for Daniel is the Daniel Morcombe Foundation’s biggest fundraiser each year. As a College, we participated last Friday in a 'Red day', students wore their sports unform with a splash of red. A gold coin donation was made and will go to the Daniel Morcombe Foundations to continue developing free resources and programs for parents, carers, and educators to teach children how to stay safe. Funds also contribute to supporting young victims of crime.

Parents, carers, and educators are encouraged to start a conversation with children and young people about personal safety. Students participated in a lesson about safe relationships last Friday. There is a parent fact sheet about personal safety also included in this newsletter to help parents and carers have these conversations at home. 

Uniforms

Thank-you to all the parents who responded to the survey last week. This information is being collated, considered and discussed in the coming weeks. There will be a new uniform policy for 2023. If parents wish to contribute more to this conversation, they are all welcome to attend the P and F meetings. 

Vaping Resources – How to talk about vaping with your child?

As a society, we have been well educated about the impacts of smoking and as a result have seen a decrease in cigarette smoking, however, we have witnessed a rise in the popular alternative of vaping.  These devices are a novelty for young people and there is a misconception out there that they are harmless – particularly compared to regular cigarettes. The attraction for young people is the enticing smell and taste of the flavours; mango, ice-cream, bubblegum etc. Vaping paraphernalia is also readily available. Although restricted in Australia, vape equipment can be purchased online. There  is also the lure of sophisticated marketing through social media.  The long-term effects of vaping are still unknown. The Lung Foundation of Australia state that they do know that the short term effects are nausea, vomiting, mouth and airway irritation, chest pain and heart palpitations. There is also a common misconception that vaping is merely harmless water vapour, in fact it is aerosol made from tiny, toxic particles such as:

According to the Bureau of Statistics, more than 1 in 5 (21.7%) of young Australians aged 18-24 and 7.6% of 15-17 year olds have used a vape at least once. It is likely, of course, that these figures are under-reported because responses were provided by an adult living in the same household. 

It’s an age-old question for us as adults: how do we get the message through to teenagers that something they think is cool is actually dangerous, and they should stop doing it? We did it with smoking, now the challenge for this generation of teachers and parents is vaping.

Griffith University is looking to change that, they’ve created a gamified experience called The Vape Detective that will help inform students about the dangers of vaping and challenge their perspectives. The following podcast explains this initiative from Griffith University. You do need to download it first before it will play.

How to make vaping uncool - The Briefing - Podcast en iVoox

They speak to Associate professor Coral Gartner from Griffith Uni who takes us through their program, and Timo Dietrich who’s the co-founder of Blurred Minds who has developed a vaping game to discourage teenagers from taking it up.

Years 9 and 10 students have also been exploring what is actually in vaping devices in their pastoral lessons this term. I encourage you to have this conversation with your child to reinforce these messages we are discussing at school. 

Senior Formal 2023

The College is looking at our Senior Formal structures and venues for 2023. We invite Year 12 parents to answer the survey below to help inform our decision.

https://forms.office.com/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=_f1LV0RCBUK3EBaPWwxYDbsMR4O0PvpDt7bvV7GZXHFUMDkxRFpNOUhNRU4xMkw4NEhXN1JFSk02Qy4u

Year 12 2023 students and parents will be invited to a meeting in Week 8 to outline the events for students in their final year of schooling. Final details will be sent to current Year 11 students.

By Mr Michael Simpson, Assistant Principal Curriculum 

By Mrs Patrice Riordan, Acting Assistant Principal Religious Education

“Christ has no hands but ours” Teresa of Avila (1515-1582)

Over the past two weeks, I have had the opportunity to see our students and staff through the LENS of our school. I have witnessed the hands of Christ being Liberating, Empowering and Nurturing. Watching students help, include and care for one another encourages me to stay focused on our school charisms and continue using my hands for Christ’s work.

Vinnies Christmas Appeal

One in eight Australians are living in poverty, one in six are children. 

Poverty exists.
Poverty hurts us all. 
We can all do something about it. 

Anti-Poverty Week Coalition

Our annual Christmas Appeal is continuing over the next few weeks. In the true spirit of Christmas, we are encouraging all students to bring in appropriate donations for a Christmas meal, personal toiletries or presents for under the tree. Any money donated will be used to buy fruit and vegetable or meat vouchers. Some of our Christmas hampers are starting to take shape while some are a bit bare. It is around about this time of the term that donations start to roll in at a good rate and I would strongly encourage every family to think about what they can donate and why it’s important to donate. The Christmas appeal runs until Monday, 21 November 2022 – Monday, Week 8.

Pope Francis reminds us: “Where the poor are concerned, it is not talk that matters; what matters is rolling up our sleeves and putting our faith into practice through a direct involvement, one that cannot be delegated.” 

One Million children praying the Rosary for Unity and Peace

On October 18, 2022 several Year 7 and Year 8 religion classes took part in praying a decade of the Rosary. This prayer initiative by Aid to the Church in Need aims to rekindle faith in the power of prayer. The worldwide campaign is an invitation to remember the words of Our Lady of Fatima that the childlike and trusting prayer of the rosary can truly change the world, defeat evil and bring peace. The rosary opens our hearts to concrete help for the persecuted, the needy and the poor in whom Christ himself suffers.

At the Bishop’s Inservice day this year, Bishop Robert made the announcement that each Year 10 student across the entire Diocese of Toowoomba will receive their own set of rosary beads.

Praxis – Years 7 - 9

As part of their study of Catholic Social Teaching in Religious Education, students in Years 7 – 9 have been asked to complete a few hours of community service and reflect on how this links to the Catholic worldview. This has been occurring throughout the year, but some students are still yet to complete these service hours. All Years 7 – 9 teachers will be addressing, once again, some options for how these service hours might be completed by students over the next two weeks. Please chat with your child/children and ask them how they are going with their Praxis. If you have any concerns or questions, please contact your child/children’s RE teacher directly. Praxis tasks are due shortly.

Year Level Mass and PC liturgies

Our Year 7 students will attend Mass at St Mary’s Church on Tuesday, 8 November 2022. Mass will commence at 9am and parents are more than welcome to join us. Students will return to school in time for Period 2.  

Pastoral Care (PC) liturgies will continue each Wednesday throughout Term 4, 2022. PC liturgies are a time for each PC class to pause, connect, embrace and reflect on scripture.

Prayer

Prayer for the Poor

Loving God,

You hear the cry of each of your children,

And especially those who are suffering. 

We pray that we too might hear the cries of people in need:

The family crying out for food…..The migrant child crying out for his mother…

The youth crying out for education…

The farmer crying out for rains for his harvest…

The traicked and abused, crying out for freedom…

All who are poor and vulnerable, crying out for help…

Lord, open our hearts that we may hear

The cries of the poor as you do

And respond as your hands and feet on earth.

In your name we pray,

Amen.

By Mr Scott Clegg, Business Manager 

COLLEGE FEES

Term 4 fees have been emailed on Friday, 28 October 2022. Please check your email and contact our Finance Team or Business Manager, Scott Clegg on 4660 4000 or finance@acwarwick.catholic.edu.au should you have any concerns or require any additional information.

Assumption College is undertaking a review of our College Fees. Due to the current economic climate and increased costs, it is estimated our fees will increase by 5% in 2023. As part of the review, the option of an inclusive fee structure is also being considered. An inclusive fee structure would mean a set annual fee, billed across the four school terms (instalment options still available).  

We value your feedback in this review and ask that you complete this survey https://forms.office.com/r/QaKiLR0bGE

By Mr Thomas Duggan, Sports Coordinator

Congratulations to our u15 Girls Rugby 7’s team that played in Week 2 in their debut fixtures. The girls did very well in both of their two games. The first game was against Faith Lutheran College in which we had a very strong start. Morgan O’Leary scored the opening try with a long range line break scoring under the posts. Faith Lutheran bounced back well and were able to score a few quick consecutive tries which tested our defence. We bounced back again in the second half with a solid try scored by Abby Hammond. Faith Lutheran won this game 32-10.

Our second game was against Downlands College. We started this game in a very solid manner with a few quick tries to Lily Bennet and Morgan O’Leary. Our defence in this game was much improved and was led by Katelyn Fischer and Ember Barnsdale. More tries were scored by Abby Hammond and Morgan O’Leary to jag a double. We won this fixture 24-10.

Unfortunately, Round 2 was postponed to Thursday, 27 October 2022 due to wet weather. The girls were eager for their games in Highfields against St Saviour's College and Toowoomba Anglican School. The girls came away with wins in both their matches and now the girls sit second on the ladder. Well done, girls!

By Mrs Mary-Anne Driver, Library Aide

It’s all systems go at the library as the Year 12s head into exams and the Year 11s start on their last year of work.  All text books will be returned, checked for damage and cleaned, ready for 2023.  If you see any text books at home that your child no longer needs, please organise for them to be returned to the library.

There is still plenty of activity in the library every lunch time, with all sorts of games being played and enjoyed.  It is always lovely to see a mix of year levels playing each other in chess, UNO, mancala and blackjack. 

Drawing is also popular – there is a group who are free drawing anime characters – and sometimes a teacher or two! 

Art and Design Showcase - Thursday, 24 November 2022

Please remember to visit the display for Arts and Design student work from across the year at St James Hall 5:00 – 5:50 pm, before the Presentation Night. It is a good chance to see what students achieved in 2022. You will also be able to listen to the House and Concert Bands!

Light refreshments will be available.

Year 9 Murals

The Year 9 students have submitted their ideas for the murals to be placed on display in the College. We have nearly five years worth of work across walls, currently on display, covering various subjects and aspects of life at the College. Different, this year, is that ITD students designed and constructed new housing for the bins in our courtyards in Semester 1. Our Year 9 students are painting the doors of the housing for our bins to add some more colour. We look forward to seeing these projects come to fruition. I hope they will be completed in time to install for the Showcase evening.

Winning Art Studio Day Photo

Our first prize went to Mr Simpson who joined us on the excursion for his artwork representing Time (it was very close though!). We will have to send the challenge onto Mr Simpson next year to come back and visit and see if he can outdo the artists again next time!

Calculators

The Mathematics department has sourced ten calculators at a reduced cost of $35. If your calculator is looking tired or no longer up to the challenges of secondary mathematics, we have a small number, brand new and ready to go. First in best dressed. The Casio normally retails around $40-50. This model is used by all students from Years 7-12 and meets the extensive requirements of the current Qld syllabus. If you are interested in purchasing one of these calculators, please contact either Mr Cloney or see student reception/front office. 

Assumption College Enrolments 2023

School Road Safety

In a world-first road safety initiative, new speed camera technology will soon target speeding drivers at selected school zones across Queensland.

Everyone has a role in keeping our roads safe. It is imperative drivers reduce their speed to the signed 40 km/h speed limit and be aware of activity by students on or near the road.

Speed cameras will only operate during school zone times at the selected schools.

Parents, and carers dropping off or picking up students are urged to comply with school zone speed limits. Those who slow down will not be penalised.

Men's Gathering and Breakfast

Proposed Warwick Bikeway - Community Consultation

Please find below the link to have your say about the proposed Warwick bikeway. Please note that the closing date to have your say is Friday, 11 November 2022. All information can be found at the following link:

https://www.tmr.qld.gov.au/projects/warwick-principal-cycle-network-plan-business-case

Community Christmas Lunch

Intergenerational Community Centre

Warwick Girls Cricket