ASSUMPTION COLLEGE WARWICK Sow… Nurture… Grow… Generosity PH: 4660 4000 www.acwarwick.catholic.edu.au Email: [email protected] Issue 5/ 20th February, 2017 PRINCIPAL’S MESSAGE: Thank you to all the families who came along for a lovely relaxed evening at our welcome BBQ last Monday. Thank you to all the staff who assisted with the evening and made themselves available to meet with the parents. A big thank you also to our Year 12 students who cooked the BBQ and to Mrs Anne O’Dea for the wonderful support she continues to provide our College as the canteen convenor. Evenings such as our welcome BBQ provide a great opportunity for parents and teachers to come together in an informal manner to talk about the progress of students and how they are managing with the start of the new school year. In a number of the conversations that I had with our new Year 7 families, the discussion started with comments about how much the students are loving being at our College and then moved to their concerns regarding the impending workload and how they are going to assist their children to cope. Being a teacher my initial responses to these concerns included the usual advice around the importance of time management, being organised, breaking down tasks into smaller items in order to complete the whole assignment, ensuring that the children are developing resilience and demonstrating a growth mindset. However, as I reflected upon these conversations over the last week and given that I will be in this situation as a parent of a Year 7 student next year, I started to ask myself if I would have been satisfied with receiving the advice that I was providing other families last Monday evening. After some consideration I gave myself a pass mark, however I wanted to know more about the factors that have the greatest impact upon a student’s ability to achieve. After doing some further reading and research, what I found most interesting was the current advice that child psychologists are providing around assisting your child to succeed at school: “Make sure your children have adequate sleep every night”. The reason for this advice is that children’s behaviour, performance and mood are impaired by lack of sleep. In a recent newspaper article journalist, Paula Goodyer, refers to sleep specialist, Dr Chris Seton, who believes that electronic media and mobile phone use, play a part in children’s sleep deprivation: “Texting is worse than talking on the phone because kids stay awake waiting for the next message. A study of 13 year-olds in the U.S., that included checking mobile phone numbers, found that 45% of them used their phones after 3.00 am”. He urged parents to be more assertive about keeping 1|Page computers and TV’s out of children’s bedrooms and making it a rule that mobiles stay on the kitchen table until morning. Dr Seton suggested that the best way to judge how much sleep a child needs is to assess whether it’s “enough for them to wake spontaneously- meaning without an alarm clock- on most mornings and avoid tiredness during the day until the last hour before bedtime”. When it comes to how much sleep our children need, the general consensus appears to be: 10-11 hours per night for children 6 to 9 years old; 9-10 hours for children 10-14 years old; ages 15 and over need 8-9 hours per night. Children, nowadays, have a variety of sporting, cultural, academic and sometimes work commitments both before and after school. Even though these activities are important physically, socially and perhaps economically, we as parents need to ensure that they are not at the expense of our children’s required level of sleep. Some of the symptoms of sleep deprivation in children include moodiness and irritability, temper tantrums, the tendency to emotionally “explode” at the slightest provocation, over-activity and hyperactive behaviour, grogginess when they wake up in the morning, reluctance to get out of bed in the morning. Newcastle Sleep Disorders Centre. Sleep loss can cause a range of schooling problems including naughtiness, poor concentration, and under performance leading to poor academic results. In teenagers, sleep deprivation can lead to problems with impulse control, which leads to risk-taking behaviours, and increased risk of depression. Surprisingly, sleep deprivation affects adults and children differently; adults tend to become drowsy, whereas, children tend to “rev-up”. So, what advice is there for parents to assist good sleeping habits for our children? Well firstly, there is the usual piece of advice: be a role model. Model the importance of sleep, rest and relaxation; maybe model reading before bedtime as a means to relax. No drinks that contain caffeine or food or drinks that contain lots of sugar especially late in the day. Make sleep a number one priority and monitor the effects that multiple after school activities and jobs have on the amount of sleep time that children have available. This week we pray that we all have the time in our lives to rest, re-energise and prepare ourselves for the following day, so that we may have the energy to strive to be the best we can be. Dear God As I lay down to sleep, relax the tension of my body; still the thoughts which worry and perplex me. Help me to rest myself and all my problems in your strong and loving arms. Let your Spirit speak to my mind and heart while I am asleep, so that, when I wake up in the morning, I may find that I have received the night-time, light for my way; 2|Page strength for my tasks; peace for my worries; forgiveness for my sins. Grant me sleep tonight, and tomorrow power to live. Amen. WELCOME BARBEQUE P&F Committee Thank you to the large number of parents who gathered last Monday evening for our first P&F meeting of the year. Congratulations to the following people who have taken up positions on the executive of the committee; Mr Bill McVeigh – President Mrs Lara Farrell – Vice President Mrs Tanya Gordon – Treasurer Mrs Regina Henry – Secretary Mrs Sharon Ryan & Mrs Sharon Newley – Clothing Pool Coordinators We thank these wonderful parents and the other members of the committee for their continued support of our College. Best wishes for the week. Kort 3|Page TERM 1 – 2017 DATE CLAIMERS WEEK DATE EVENT Saturday 24 February Caritas Leadership Day Tuesday 28 February Year 8 Hatch Retreat Tuesday 28 February Immunisation Year 7 Wednesday 1 March Year 7 Hatch Retreat Wednesday 1 March Ash Wednesday Wednesday 1 March Board Meeting 6pm Tuesday 7 March Parish Council Meeting Tuesday 7 March Year 11 & 12 SOR Excursion Wednesday 8 March Year 11 & 12 SOR Excursion Friday 10 March Year 12 University Show Case Monday 13 March P&F Meeting 7.30pm (College Library) Monday 20 March – Thursday 23 March Year 7 – 12 Assessment Friday 24 March Warwick Show Holiday Monday 27 March Students Start New Units of Work Wednesday 29 March – Thursday 30 March Year 12 QCS Practice Thursday 30 March Easter Liturgy Friday 31 March Cross Country Friday 31 March Term 1 Concludes WEEK 5 WEEK 6 WEEK 7 WEEK 8 WEEK 9 WEEK 10 4|Page PASTORAL CARE NEWS: By Mr Craig Frattini, Deputy Principal Four parenting priorities for 2017 By Michael Grose The following four priorities are both current and significant, deserving to be top of mind for parents as the 2017 school year begins. 1. Time to tackle technology It takes a lot of parental backbone to swim against the current all-encompassing technology tide. You can’t hold it back, but you can slow it down. You can suggest it sits on the metaphorical shelf for a while or at least while you eat dinner together. You can insist that social media isn’t the only way to stay in touch with friends and show them that Dr. Google may be clever but he/she only knows so much and that accurate and current information can be found offline. When it comes to kids and technology, don’t be an onlooker. Make this a year for getting in the game with kids, tech boots on and all. 2. Promote physical and mental health Remember the old ‘healthy body, healthy mind’ maxim that past generations so fondly spruiked? Well, it's true. Physical and mental health are inextricably linked. So this year while we encourage our kids to practise mindfulness; get a good night’s sleep and ensure they relax and unwind, let’s also make sure kids get plenty of physical activity, preferably outdoors. 3. Put the spoon back in the drawer As reported in Fairfax Media recently, “In the 1970’s only one in five under-30’s in Australia lived with their parents but now it’s one in two.” This high dependency of children and teenagers on adults is the exact opposite of what adults have done in the past, which is develop their children’s independence and achieve the most important parenting outcome of all – their own redundancy. In 2017 remove the spoon, put it back in the drawer and make independence building a high priority in your family. 4. Put integrity top of the pedestal of character traits Every parent wants their child to have the strength and fortitude to do the right thing and not follow the crowd. This is easier for young children because the pull of the group and the allure of the media doesn’t have such a strong hold as it so often does in adolescence. Strong-willed children and those who like to have their own way can also find doing the right thing less of a struggle. But the development of integrity and related traits such as respect, honesty and fairness is an important part of a child’s moral compass that will help him/her make smart decisions when you’re not around. Generally, integrity is developed in childhood and put to the test in adolescence. http://parentingideasschools.com.au/Helping-Parents/Four-parenting-priorities-for-2017 5|Page APRE NEWS: By Mrs Kate Cullen, APRE Hatch Retreat Days- Yr 8 Tuesday the 28th February and Year 7 Wednesday the 1st March Students received information about these days last week. If you have any questions please ask…in general it is an enjoyable day, with fun activities, interesting stories and a chance to take time out with their cohort to reflect on friendships, difference, personal hopes and what they value and would like out of life. Please make sure you return the form if your student will not be attending otherwise the letter is a FYI for parents reminding students they can wear their sports uniforms on the day spent in St James Hall at the College with the Hatch Retreat Presenters. SOR EXCURSION FORMS Please return your forms to the office or your classroom teacher. Students need to make sure about the clothing requirements for the day. Just to be clear…as girls are required to have full coverage of their legs for the mosque we would require all students to wear their academic/winter uniform for the day. They should all have their blazers with them. Boys and Girls will need to wear their blazers within the mosque, the last stop of the afternoon. We will all need hats for when we break to grab a quick bite at different times but boys need their hats for the first stop at the synagogue – the school hat only, no need for substitutes thank you. Please return your forms to the office or your class room teacher. Ash Wednesday On Wednesday the 1st of March all students will gather in their House Groups to participate in the Ash Wednesday Liturgy and receive the ashes to mark the beginning of Lent. This will occur during Pastoral Care time in the morning. Ash Wednesday also marks the beginning of Project Compassion where we aim to help raise funds for the work of Caritas. More information will be coming about this as well. Traditionally no meat products are sold at the tuckshop on this day. Junior Religion Assessment Students complete Inquiry Tasks (assignments) and Routine Tasks (marked in class tasks) to receive their results in Religious Education at Assumption College. Students complete 2 - 4 routine tasks per term depending on the content being covered and these address the student’s application, understanding and ability to remember key content within the course demonstrating how to apply previously learnt information in these routine tasks. Some routine tasks, as well as other general classroom activities, have been asked to be modelled on NAPLAN test structure and expectations, to help develop student’s general Reading, Writing and Language Conventions control using the content of the course within these task. These are not additional but embedded in the unit and lesson plans as part of learning more about the course, but also the skills and needs of our students. The Inquiry Tasks ask students to develop analytical, evaluation and design skills. Where students use content learnt and apply it to make judgements about, discuss, investigate, create, synthesise responses to the inquiry questions that drive the content of each unit. In these responses, students have to give an answer that involves an explanation of their conclusion, why they believe such and such to be the answer to the inquiry question based on what they have learnt across the unit. Core 6|Page knowledge builds each year with students revisiting past ideas and extending it further, like learning about monotheism, learning about covenant within the Old Testament from Abraham to Moses and the prophets, learning about Abrahamic Religions and foundational beliefs, learning about the new covenant and the teachings of Jesus surrounding it, focusing on the mystery of God and Other in relationship with faith and spirituality. These move across Year 7 to Year 10 units. Henri Nouwen Reflection: Celebrating Being Alive Birthdays are so important. On our birthdays we celebrate being alive. On our birthdays people can say to us, "Thank you for being!" Birthday presents are signs of our families' and friends' joy that we are part of their lives. Little children often look forward to their birthdays for months. Their birthdays are their big days, when they are the centre of attention and all their friends come to celebrate. We should never forget our birthdays or the birthdays of those who are close to us. Birthdays keep us childlike. They remind us that what is important is not what we do or accomplish, not what we have or who we know, but that we are, here and now. On birthdays let us be grateful for the gift of life. Sow... Nurture ... Grow ... Mercy CURRICULUM NEWS: By Mrs Anna Hardy, Assistant Principal—Curriculum Term 1 interim reports: Term 1 interim reports will be issued to students during the last week of term 1. These reports are designed to give parents/guardians an overview of their student’s progress in the new year. Teachers will indicate if a parent/teacher interview is required or not. Of course all parents are welcome to attend regardless of the teacher request. Parent/teacher interviews will be held early in Term 2, 2nd and 8th May. All bookings will be made on SOBS. An instruction sheet will be issued with reports. Any questions, concerns or thoughts please don’t hesitate to contact the College office. QCS Special Consideration: Special provision is available to students who are affected by a medical condition, impairment or exceptional circumstances that may act as a barrier to their access to the QCS test or to their demonstration of achievement in the test. If any year 12 student needs to apply they should see Mrs Hardy this term. The QCS test is run over two days in late August for all OP eligible Year 12 students. 7|Page Assessment calendars: Assessment calendars have been emailed out to all students in a PDF form. The live calendar that reflects changes made is available on the College website. We encourage all parents and students to regularly check this for updates. University of New South Wales ICAS: The International Competitions and Assessments for Schools (ICAS) is an independent, skills-based assessment program, which recognises and rewards student achievement. At the College we value academic progress and achievement. We are in the process of developing an academic culture that allows each student to achieve to their potential and would encourage them to sit these tests. Students will receive UNSW certificates or medals depending on their achievement and will be recognised for their accomplishment. Students from Years 8-12 have been selected based on 2016 results and will be invited to attend via a letter sent home. We would like to extend this opportunity to any other student who may be interested. We would also like to call upon any Year 7 student who would be interested in sitting the tests as their 2016 results were not available to access and therefore select students. CAREERS NEWS: By Mrs Ali Porter, Careers Careers News UMAT Applications are open Registration for the UMAT (Undergraduate Medicine and Health Sciences Admission Test) are now open. Any Year 12 student considering university study in the fields of medicine, optometry, dentistry and such should consider whether they need to sit UMAT. UMAT is a requirement for application into some medicine and health courses at a range of universities. For more information students should see the College Careers Coordinator, the careers intranet or visit http://umat.acer.edu.au Current Vacancies There are currently two school-based apprenticeships with local employers available for interested students in Years 10, 11 & 12. These are listed below. If students wish to apply they need to submit a copy of their resume to me before the end of the week. School-based traineeship/apprenticeship in Hairdressing (certificate level to be determined at time of offer) School-based apprenticeship in Flooring Technology. Aspire To Health Program QRME invites Year 10 students interested in a Health Career to participate in Aspire to Health at the Warwick Hospital on 3rd of May, 2017. Aspire to Health provides high-school students a tour of the hospital, presentations from practicing Health Professionals and current Health Students, and clinical skills sessions. This is a great experience for any Year 10 students considering medical or health related career paths. Participation is capped at 20, therefore interested students should see me as soon as possible. 8|Page School-based Traineeships & Apprenticeships It is that time of year again when many students are looking for school-based traineeships or apprenticeships. For those students who are interested I encourage them to fill out an ‘Expression of Interest’ form so that the College is aware of student interest and able to support students in their endeavours to secure a traineeship or apprenticeship. Year 10 students will be provided with more information around the school-based apprenticeship and traineeship program in coming months but are welcome to see me if interested before then. Certainly too if anyone knows of any local businesses looking to employ a school-based apprentice or trainee then please let us know as we would really like to be able to offer these opportunities to our interested students. Careers Dates for 2017: February 14 Year 10 Careers Course blocks begin February 16 USQ Head Start Semester 1 Orientation Evening March 1 Start QUT applications open (for semester 2) March 22-26 World Science Festival (Brisbane) May 3 Warwick Health Aspire Day May 14 Start QUT applications close (for Semester 2) May 11 USQ Toowoomba Student Experience Day July 15 & 16 Queensland Work and Skills Expo (Brisbane) July 27 Warwick Careers Market October 10 USQ Indigenous Connections TALKING TECHNOLOGY: By Mrs Carmel Wooding, Teacher-Librarian Please remind students to ensure all the textbooks they have in their possession have their name written on the stamped panel inside the book. This will ensure that when they return them at the end of the year they will not return someone else’s book in error. Thanks for your assistance! “Literacy is the bridge between daily struggle and personal freedom.” SPORT NEWS: By Mrs Julie Collins, Program Leader Sport WSSSA Swimming Carnival: Congratulations to the students who participated at the All Schools Carnival on Thursday night. Thank you to the staff who gave up their time to assist in the running of the carnival – much appreciated!! Darling Downs Trials: the following students have qualified to trial for DD Swimming. We wish all these students all the best. Nicholas Blakemore Seamus Ryan Caitlin Skaines Matthew Blakemore Luke Hauff 9|Page Jackson Pitstock Lily Osborne Darling Downs Selections: Congratulations to Joelle Natividad who has been selected in the Darling Downs Softball team. DATE CHANGE – please note the date change to SD Basketball trials, students will trial with BD Winter trials this Thursday. Students have been informed of the change. SPORTS DATES Joelle Natividad FEBRUARY Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Monday 21 22 23 27 Darling Downs Swimming Trials- Gatton (13-19 years) Southern Downs Aussie Rules 3:45 Redbacks Oval Border District Winter Trials Southern Downs Basket Ball Darling Downs Rugby League 15 & 18yrs Gala Day Toowoomba (Day 1) MARCH Wednesday Tuesday Sun/Mon Monday Friday Sun/Mon Monday Friday APRIL Sun/Mon Monday Thursday Wednesday 10 | P a g e 1 7 Darling Downs 10-12yrs Swimming Gatton Darling Downs Rugby League 15 & 18yrs Gala Day Toowoomba (Day 2) Darling Downs (19yrs) Football/Soccer (BOYS & GIRLS) Darling Downs (19yrs) Hockey (BOYS & GIRLS) Toowoomba Darling Downs Netball 15 & 19yrs Nell E Robinson Park Toowoomba Darling Downs (19yrs) Squash (BOYS & GIRLS) Darling Downs AFL 15yrs BOYS/16yrs GIRLS Toowoomba 12&13 Darling Downs 10-12yrs Softball BOYS (GIRLS Monday only) Kearney Springs Darling Downs 10-12yrs Tennis (BOYS & GIRLS) Dalby 13 Darling Downs (10-12yrs) Basketball Toowoomba 17 Southern Downs Football, Hockey, Netball, Rugby League 19&20 Darling Downs (10-12yrs) Tennis Dalby 20 Darling Downs (10-12yrs) AFL Middle Ridge Toowoomba Darling Downs 18yrs Basketball (BOYS & GIRLS) Darling Downs 10-19yrs Orienteering Darling Downs Rugby Union 18yrs Toowoomba 31 ACW Cross Country 23&24 24 20 26 Darling Downs 11-12yrs Rugby League Toowoomba Darling Downs 11-12yrs Netball Toowoomba Southern Downs Touch (BOYS & GIRLS) Scots Briggs Oval Border District/ Southern Downs Cross Country Killarney Assumption College Cricket Seniors Assumption College vs Centenary Heights State High School After losing the toss and being sent into bat, Joe Gordon and Cooper Tate-Roche made a 50 run partnership to get us off to a solid start. After Joe and Cooper left the crease, the middle order scored quickly with Will and Pat Gordon both scoring well. In the last few overs there was some useful pinch hitting to take the score to a very respectable 184 after our 20 overs. The Centenary top order batted smartly to be 120 after 12 overs and on target for victory. After Jarod Millard and Mitchell Hay bowled some tight overs towards the back end of the innings the game was in the balance. Late wickets and tidy fielding helped secure our first win by 15 runs. Will Gordon Assumption College Cricket Juniors Assumption College Junior Cricketers take on Centenary Heights On Wednesday ACW Junior Cricketers took on Centenary Heights in the first Twenty-Twenty game for the season in Toowoomba. ACW Junior Cricketers didn't get off to a great start after losing the toss and having to take to the field in the heat of the afternoon. Centenary got off to a good start before some tight bowling from Hayden Doherty allowed Paul Dendle to pick up the first wicket. After the early wicket youngster, Jacob Butler grabbed another wicket to have them reeling at 220. From there Centenary scored freely even after a run out and wicket by keeper Sean Bryson and 2 more wickets from Paul Dendle. Unfortunately, these wickets couldn't prevent Centenary score a very competitive total of 166. In reply ACW Junior Cricketers struggled to find their rhythm and lost regular wickets with ease, with only Joseph Hume the noticeable batter scoring a big hitting 27 off 11. Even with an inspiring stand by Jo, and a hard fought effort by the tail end of the batting order, JCW Juniors were dismissed for 11 | P a g e half of Centenary Heights total. With this loss the team learnt many lessons and moving forward ACW juniors will require big improvements with their batting next week as we take on St Mary's in Warwick. A big thank you to Centenary Heights for a great game and Mr Godley for umpiring and his time to travel with the team. Sean Bryson BUSINESS NEWS: By Mr Scott Clegg, Business Manager. “FEES COLLECTION POLICY” RATIONALE: The College receives funding from both Federal and State Governments intended to cover wages and salaries. All other operational costs of the College must be funded from the collection of fees and levies. As a member of the Assumption College community, each parent/guardian has a commitment to fulfil their financial obligations so that the College can continue to maintain a quality education for all students. VALUES: Values underpinning the collection of school fees include Equity, Justice, Dignity, Compassion, Commitment and Respect for individual circumstances. POLICY STATEMENT: Parents/Guardians are expected to pay all fees and levies charged by the College. The College is aware, however, that from time to time some parents/guardians find themselves in financial difficulties. Following consultation with the Principal, every compassionate consideration will be given to families who genuinely cannot meet their fee commitments. GUIDELINES: Accounts detailing fees and levies charged will be issued by the College quarterly and are payable within 30 days of issue. Any arrangements to vary the terms of payment e.g. fortnightly, monthly etc. must be made with our Business Finance Manager or our College Finance Officer. Parents/guardians who have difficulty meeting College fees are expected to contact the Principal to make alternative arrangements. Alternative arrangements are reviewed annually or as circumstances alter. For those parents/guardians who do not pay fees and who have not made special arrangements with the Principal, the collection of fees and levies will be conducted on a commercial basis as follows: (i) A reminder by way of letter from the College Finance Officer will be sent within seven days after the due date on all outstanding accounts. (ii) 12 | P a g e Accounts which remain outstanding 14 days after the reminder letter in (i) will receive a letter from the Principal reminding them of the obligation and expectation to pay within 7 days. (iii) If there is no response to the Principal’s letter within 7 days, the account will be placed in the hands of a Debt Collection Agency. (iv) Failure to respond to the Debt Collection Agency may result in the initiation of legal action to recover debt. (v) When a student leaves the College with outstanding fees or levies, any monies held on behalf of the parent/guardian including Textbook Hire, will be credited against the debt owing and action to recover the remainder of the debt instigated.” In addition to the above policy we confirm that if you are experiencing any difficulties with paying school fees we welcome your contact with us. We believe that open lines of communication are vital in the rectification of any difficulties and we would prefer to work with you. If you do not make us aware of your particular situation we have no alternative other than to act in accordance with the above policy. Regards Scott Clegg, Business Manager. ST MARY’S CATHOLIC PARISH: 1st RECONCILIATION Candidates for 1st Reconciliation will celebrate this Healing Sacrament at St Mary’s Church 7pm Thursday 16th March 2017 Please Pray for all candidates and their families. 13 | P a g e ‘ The first meeting of Committee, Debutantes and Mums/Carers will be held in St Mary’s Hall on Sunday 5th March at 5:30pm. This is where decisions on colours and décor will be made. So, please come along and have some input. We would appreciate any assistance and support. Thankyou. 14 | P a g e Friday 2nd June at St Mary’s Hall, Wood Street, Warwick REGISTRATION FORM available from Parish Office or online at www.stmarysparishwarwick.org.au A $70 deposit is required with the submission of the Registration Form. This covers the cost of the Bouquet and Group Photo. Alternative Contact Alannah Johnson (Assumption College) Registrations close on 28th February 2017 15 | P a g e COMMUNITY NEWS: 16 | P a g e 17 | P a g e 18 | P a g e Come and get some extra training or just learn some new skills in a fun and safe environment. You will be coached by two experienced and qualified coaches in Matt Kairouz and Tim Gaske. Sessions will be at Wirac on Friday afternoons from 4pm-5pm and only costs $10 per session. Payable before session starts. Proudly support by the following local businesses For more information you can contact either coach on: Matt Kairouz 0431 419 830 19 | P a g e
© Copyright 2026 Paperzz