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2022 Term 2 - Week 2

Principal's News

Partnering in Learning

The Student-Led Conferences next Tuesday will be a great opportunity to sustain the partnership we aim to build with parents. The timing of the Conferences is particularly beneficial as we have seen learning progression in the classroom and have an understanding for how students could seek to improve.

I highlight the emphasis on the conferences being ‘student-led’. Last week, in STRETCH, all students developed goals or ‘Ambitions’ for this term. Though broad in their focus, the more students can articulate the areas that they want to improve upon and we support their ideas, notable gains can be made.

Parents, ask your child/ren questions in the conference, just as much as you would want to ask the teacher. The outcomes will provide clearer insight on what is happening with their learning and their level of ownership and engagement.

Following the conference, discuss the various points that were raised during each conference. Together, work out what are the two or three strategies that your child/ren want to focus on and how frequently they could be reviewed. For example, it may be that, “I left the assignment to the last minute and I don’t want to do that again.” Brainstorming how this could be addressed could then happen:

Let’s put the Due Dates in a prominent location, eg. the fridge
Each Sunday evening, check what is coming up and allocate time during the week to work on the task.
Determine when there would be structured time for working on assignment – perhaps 2 or 3 hours across the week.
Have a ‘Show and Tell’ time each week or as frequently as needed – “What I have been doing this week in – SUBJECT?”
Consistent Homework/Study/Revision time during the week.
There could be many more …

The key is to have the student involved in the path that is taken. As a parent, supporting this then becomes about holding them accountable to what they have agreed to. I am not suggesting that this is a lecture or argument – it is more, “You said you would do ____ so that you improve. I want to help you get there.”

I do hope that the discussions that occur next week are purposeful and achieve the outcomes we would all want to see.

ANZAC Day Service and Commemorative March

I was very proud of how our students engaged in last week’s ANZAC Day Service. Mr David Simmons, President of the Springwood Tri-Service Sub-Branch of the RSL, was our guest and he spoke about understanding the reason for acknowledging ANZAC Day and demonstrating respect for those who have served or are currently serving in the defence forces, as well as those who did not return to their families. We also acknowledge the tremendous commitment made by the families who support our service people.

On ANZAC Day itself, many students represented at the various services in the local area, as well as in Brisbane; some represented their Cadet Unit, their Scout or Guide Groups and others their families. A group of around 50 students represented Chisholm Catholic College at the Springwood Commemorative March. Regardless of where students may have participated, or how, I am immensely proud of their efforts.

Flu Season

We have been advised of the potential of an increase in influenza (the ‘flu’) cases this winter. Flu can spread quickly in schools where large numbers of children learn and play in close contact with each other. Preventing the flu is a joint effort in schools. Students, parents, and staff need to work together and take the necessary precautions to stop the flu from circulating in the school environment.

Advice from Queensland Health:

Get vaccinated: Flu strains change each year, so you and your children need to be vaccinated every year.
Stop the spread: Flu spreads easily between people, particularly children.

If you (or your child) are unwell, stay home and seek medical advice.
Wash your hands frequently with soap and running water.
Cover coughs and sneezes with a tissue, throw the tissue in the bin and wash your hands.

Stay healthy: take extra care to make sure you have enough sleep, exercise regularly, drink plenty of water, eat a well-balanced diet, and maintain a healthy work-life balance.

Many of the signs and symptoms for respiratory viruses are similar. Information on testing for COVID-19 is available at: https://www.qld.gov.au/health/conditions/health-alerts/coronavirus-covid-19/stay-informed/exposed-to-covid/covid-testing-in-queensland.

Covid-19 Update – Cases in the Community and Changes to Close Contact Requirements

The safety and wellbeing of our students continues to be a key priority for staff at the College. In line with the current requirements, the household close contacts of this case have been identified and are undertaking quarantine as necessary.

his applies to current Close Contacts and those who become Close Contacts after this time.

As of yesterday, there will be no quarantine requirements for close contacts as long as they: 

do not have COVID-19 symptoms 
test negative every second day for a week from the day of becoming a close contact (day 0, 2, 4 and 6) 
wear a mask outside of home for 7 days 
do not visit any vulnerable settings (hospitals, residential aged care facilities, disability accommodation services, corrective services facilities and detention centres) for 7 days

With regards to the RATs. We are not required to provide these to students or staff. And, there is no need for the results to be shared with staff at the College.

The RATs that we have will continue to be provided to students, should they attend school and present as symptomatic. A parent would be contacted to collect the student and the supplied RAT Test – we would not in any circumstance test a student.

A recent update to the Queensland Health Directions regarding isolation indicates that anyone who has completed their period of isolation MUST wear a face mask for seven (7) days. This applies to both individuals who have been Diagnosed with Covid and Close Contacts. This change will likely cause some frustration as it has not been widely communicated; however, we do ask for the support in maintaining this requirement. This is explained on the Queensland Health website.

It is recommended that all students, parents and staff entering the College wear a face mask; this is a recommendation not a mandate. This will continue into the start of Term 2.

We are conscious that we need to support each other by maintaining calm. The reality is that COVID-19 is active in the area and we, along with other schools, are prepared to respond should there be any notable increases. Authorities have not required us to take any further action at this time at a school level.

As COVID-19 remains active in our community we ask you to continue to monitor your child’s/children’s health and if they develop any flu-like symptoms or unwell:

Keep your child/children at home
Seek a PCR or Rapid Antigen test where it is recommended
Follow the advice of Queensland Health.

If your child tests positive please inform the College by emailing scornubia@bne.catholic.edu.au so we can support the student and take any necessary action at a school level. We would also like to know if your family is required to isolate due to the student being a Close Contact.

As we continue to navigate the pandemic, please remind your child/ren to:

maintain good hand hygiene at all times
cover coughs and sneezes with a tissue or the inside of their elbow and dispose of tissues in the bin immediately
practise social distancing from others where possible

The wearing of masks is no longer mandated. However, it is recommended that members of the community wear them.

The College will continue to:

sustain the additional cleaning effort to our sick rooms and student areas, and other high-touch point surfaces.
review ventilation in our classrooms, ensuring good airflow in learning spaces using natural and mechanical ventilation.
provide free Rapid Antigen Tests to students with symptoms while at school, to be administered at home once you collect your student.
suspend camps.
apply COVID risk management to excursions, sporting and cultural activities or in accordance with COVID-safe plans where applicable.

We are sharing this news with parents and carers to ensure you are informed of all relevant information so that you can monitor the health of your child/children.

As it is likely that the school will continue to be impacted by cases of COVID-19 in the future, we will be updating the school community about further developments on a regular basis by including information about the presence of cases within the school community via our fortnightly College Newsletter or through other communications where required, such as email or BCE Connect App. Please ensure that you keep up to date with this important information.

We will continue to work closely with health authorities to keep our school community informed of any developments and advice.

Thank you once again for your ongoing support.

Chisholm Day – Friday, 27th May

As we celebrate our 30^th Anniversary this year, we are planning for Chisholm Day to be the biggest celebration possible. Chisholm Day will extend into the evening, with families and community welcome to attend from 3:30pm.

To assist with the running of Chisholm Day, we are calling for parent volunteers to help the College and the Parents and Community Association with coordinating the event.

Parents who volunteer their time will be afforded with a $55 exemption to School Fees.

If you are able to give of your time, please complete the form below.

This year we will also be hosting Market Stalls from 3:30pm – 7:00pm. If you’d like to set up a stall, please contact scornubia@bne.catholic.edu.au

Deputy Principal's News

School Photos - Tuesday, 3^rd May

Next Tuesday, students will have their PC and individual photo taken during the morning. Students are to be in their formal uniform including long socks and ties for boys. Normal regulations regarding piercings, hair and makeup will apply.

All male students are required to wear their long socks and ties please. Shirts must be TUCKED in.
Students will have a uniform check during PC– Girls need to be make-up free and hair must be neat and off the face.
Normal rules for piercings will apply.
Boys must be clean shaven and have an appropriate hairstyle also.
Please ensure that school shoes have had a polish and that the uniform is in good condition and has been pressed.
Students who are not presentable may not be included in the photos.

All students will require their laptops for their activity when they are not doing their photos.

Sibling photos will be taken at Melaleuca from 8:00am. The Year 12s will also have a Year Level photo once the PC photos have been completed.

Photo packages have been distributed to students this week and can be returned on Tuesday or to Student Reception over the following week. Studio Kirby’s preferred method of payment is online as detailed on the packages.

Student Led Conferences and Early Departure - Tuesday, 3^rd May

Student Led Conferences

Bookings are open for the Student Led Conferences and they will close on Monday, 2^nd May at 5:00pm. The link to make a booking can be accessed through the Online Services page on the Parent Portal. The instructions for how to make a booking were attached to the email regarding Progress Reports. This year we are pleased that we can offer both online and face to face meetings and I would like to encourage parents to make a time to see your child/ren’s teachers if you have any concerns or questions.

It is very pleasing to see how many conferences have already been booked. As the name indicates, the meetings on Tuesday are most effective if the student is present, therefore we strongly recommend that your child attends the interviews whether face to face or online. If you are participating in the Student Led Conferences on Tuesday, please find some guiding questions below. These are designed to help the students think about how well they are going in their subjects and how they might be able to improve.

Early Departure

Classes will finish at 11:15am on Tuesday, 3^rd May and students with permission will be allowed to leave at that time. Supervision will be provided if they remain at school. Please ensure that you have responded to the Parent Slip sent out on Tuesday this week.

Students in Years 7 – 9 must be picked up from the school if they are departing at 11:15am.

There will be no alteration to bus services. The College will provide supervision for students who are unable to be picked up from the College at 11:15am.

Bus services, including the College buses, will run in the afternoon at their normal times.

Students who do not have permission to leave the school early will be supervised at school until 2:55pm. Once students have departed, they are only to return with a parent for the conferences.

To ease congestion in the carpark, the middle section of the carpark will be free for parents to park.

There will be a staggered release of students in the following order:

Oodgeroo and Flynn House
Namatjira and Mitchell House
Parer and MacKillop House

Students in Years 10-12 will be able to walk/ride/drive home if permission has been given on the Parent Slip.

2022 – Our 30th Anniversary

2022 marks the 30^th Anniversary for Chisholm Catholic College.

We are reaching out to our alumni to tell us what they have been up to since leaving the College, and to include them in communication about the celebrations that are being planned.

We want to tell their story, so that our students can understand that they are part of a greater legacy.

To pass on alumni details, email scornubia@bne.catholic.edu.au

Chisholm Alumni – Liam Madden

Hi Team Chisholm,

Congratulations on 30 years!

During my time at Chisholm, I had a strong feeling I’d follow my passion for music or drama after school. As there are so many avenues within music and drama, I wasn’t entirely sure where I’d end up exactly.

I have kept consistent in some regards, I played drums at school (school drummer 2007-2011), and I still play drums now.

In my middle to senior years at school, I started teaching drums to peers and older friends. This was a starting point and an indication to where I would end up.

I graduated from QUT with a Bachelor of Music (minoring in Performance and Events) in 2015, taught drums privately and with several studios until I joined the school system in 2019.

Now, I’m working at a school in Caboolture and designing my own drums, percussion, and guitar programs.

I still have a lot I want to accomplish, including studying Music Therapy. It’s never too late to learn new things, add to, or change your plans!

Assistant Principal Religious Education's News

ANZAC Day

Last Thursday, the whole College came together to commemorate ANZAC Day. We were honoured to welcome Major David Simmons, President of the Springwood Tri Service RSL Sub-branch as our invited guest. It was also wonderful to see 50 of our students represent the Chisholm FAMILY at the Springwood ANZAC Day March and Ceremony on ANZAC Day. Here, many dignitaries addressed our youth directly encouraging them to pursue peace for a better future and not to glorify war, ‘lest we forget’. The ANZAC spirit of endurance, courage, mateship, humour and ingenuity lives on and we are continually challenged to open hearts to those affected by wars today.

Dear Father, we cry out for peace and stability — for everyone. We pray for Your protection over children and their families who are caught in conflict and face ever-increasing dangers. We ask that You bring calm to the parties in conflict, comfort to families, and restore livelihoods.

Amen.

Thank You

Thank you to our many families and students who contributed to our Project Compassion Lenten Appeal. In total, we raised over $2,210 for Caritas. Mitchell House will receive the Spirit Award as the overall House winner raising $570. The winning Pastoral Care class, F6, raised a total of $210 and will have a special celebration. Your donations have helped to change the lives of some of the world’s most vulnerable people.

Mother’s Day Invitation

Next Thursday, 5^th May, the College will be celebrating Mother’s Day. Students and parents/carers are warmly invited to attend our Mother’s Day Liturgy at 7:45am in the Chisholm Centre. We hope to see you there.

Rosies

On Wednesday night, a group of our students and two staff members accompanied the Rosies van and volunteers on the street. Rosies outreach offers friendship and a hot meal and drink to those who are homeless, at risk of homelessness, or are experiencing social isolation or loneliness. Year 12 Leader Megan Leafe believes that volunteering at Rosies has been an “incredible and eye-opening experience for me. Every time my group goes out, we develop a deeper understanding of humanity and those who are less fortunate.”

Sacramental Programme - St Edward’s Daisy Hill

St Edward’s Catholic parish will be accepting applications from candidates who would like to take part in our Sacramental Programme.

Application forms are available from www.stedwardsdaisyhill.org.au. This year’s applications for Confirmation close on Friday, 13^th May 2022 with Confirmation being held in the Church at St Edward’s Daisy Hill on Thursday, 16^th June 2022 for grade 3 and above.

Any general enquiries can be directed to the Parish office, phone 3299 2000.

Assistant Principal - Curriculum's News

With the start of Term 2 having many long weekends things can be a little crazy! I have reflected that I love a long weekend but am not so sure about a four-day week, there is still 5 days of work to get done. The beginning of the term often coincides with the start of a new unit and therefore an opportunity to set some new learning goals.

If you are a Year 11 student in a General subject, you are getting close to finishing Unit 1. The QCAA requires a Satisfactory or Unsatisfactory for Unit 1 and Unit 2. Therefore, it is a good time to change if you are thinking of doing so. While we put a lot of effort into choosing the correct subjects, it may not be working and after achieving Satisfactory for Unit 1 it may be an opportune time to change. Please see me to look at options if this might be you.

The Year 12s have 22 school weeks until the start of External Exams. The end of the year will be here before we know it! If you are studying a Math or Science subject with a 50% exam at the end, it is important to incorporate study for all of Unit 3 and Unit 4 into your plan. It will be very hard to cram a year’s worth of study in at the last minute.

With SECA nearly upon us, some seniors have chosen to undertake study as their option. Changing up study practices often works very well, and this is an opportunity to do some group work. It is a learning experience explaining your idea to someone else as it can help to clarify your thoughts and deepen your understanding.

Assistant Principal - Staff and Students' News

Introduction of College Merit Slips

Welcome back to the College. I trust that everybody has enjoyed the holidays. This term, the College has started a new project with the introduction of the Chisholm Catholic College Merit Slips. The Merit Slips, designed by Mr O’Sullivan and implemented in collaboration with the staff PB4L (Positive Behaviour for Learning) team, are a way for the College staff members to recognise the positive behaviour of our students. Generally, Merit Slips can be earned in the following 4 categories: Uniform, Stewardship, Service and Academic. Students earning Merit Slips will receive special recognition awards, including emails and letters home after 5 or 10 merit slips and bronze, silver and gold pins after earning 15, 30 or 50 Merit Slips. When students receive a Merit Slip, they are asked to put them in one of the House boxes, developed by the Design Technology Team, in the Library. At the end of each term, the House with the most Merit Slips collected will be recognised with a special celebration. This term, the winning House will receive a BBQ lunch! The current standings are:

In the first week of the program, more than 500 merit slips were handed out by staff which is an amazing achievement and recognises all the good things which happen at our College. The students are excited about this new initiative and looking for ways to earn the recognitions.

Parent Engagement Evening

On Tuesday 10th of May, the College is organising the first of several themed Parent Engagement evenings. After the survey, which was sent out in the Week 8, Term 1 Newsletter, it has been decided that the first Parent Engagement Evening will focus on Year 7 information. This evening will start with a little afternoon tea from 5pm for a 5:30pm start and will finish at 6:30pm. This will be an excellent opportunity to connect with the Pastoral Leaders and members of the College Senior Leadership Team on a variety of subjects, including:

Year 7 Camp

How to be successful at CCC

Year highlights thus far

Creating effective learning and study habits

Social media, when is the right time to give access?

To attend this first Parent Engagement Evening, please RSVP by completing the following form before Friday, 6^th May 3pm: https://bit.ly/3rVZKG0.

Toast Tuesday

As COVID-19 restrictions are slowly easing we are happy to announce the return of Toast Tuesday at Chisholm. Toast Tuesday aims to provide students the chance to eat a good breakfast before school and kickstart their day. This also creates a great opportunity for our Chisholm community to come together and engage with other students while listening to some music and having a bite to eat. Every Tuesday morning from 7:30am a stall will be set up outside of the Chisholm Centre where toast, spreads, juice and Milo will be available for free. Everybody is welcome, even if you just pop in to say hi! The Student Support Committee look forward to seeing you there!

Enrolment Update – Year 7: 2023 and 2024

Enrolment interviews for Year 7, 2023 are now completed. We are unable to accept any more enrolments, so a ‘Wait List’ has been applied.

Already, we have had very strong interest in enrolments for Year 7, 2024. Interviews have commenced and will continue through to the end of Term 3.

If you have a son/daughter in Year 5 – enrol them now. We are conscious that there will be many current families who have a sibling that would be entering Year 7 in 2024. Unless their specific details were included when enrolling their older siblings, we will not know and are unable to communicate directly with you. We do not wish to see any siblings miss out on a place. Please do not assume that a place would be made available, enrol now.

If you have a family friend or work colleague who is looking at enrolling their child for Year 7, 2024 at Chisholm Catholic College, please ask them to make contact now.

Sport News

Interhouse Cross Country

Congratulations to all students who participated in the 2022 Interhouse Cross Country event on the final day of Term 1. Despite the wet conditions and change of course it was an enjoyable day for all and it was great to see the House colours out and proud for our first Interhouse event for the year.

Students who have nominated themselves for Districts will be receiving notification of attending this event.

The College will also be inviting students to attend the SECA Cross Country event later this term.

Well done to our Age Champions and Overall House winners for 2022 featured below.

Cross Country Carnival Results 2022

SECA Sport

Unfortunately, we have had our first SECA day postponed with some venues being unable to be played upon due to wet conditions. A SECA catch up round is put in place for each term, and this will be enabled. The new catch-up round will be Thursday, 9^th June.

Students are reminded that if they have nominated to play a Sport in Season 1 that they need to have the correct playing equipment e.g. Boots, mouthguards, long socks, shinpads etc. The College does not supply this personal safety equipment. Some sports may use College playing strips that will be handed out to those teams. All other sports/activities will be played in full HPE uniform.

We look forward to our new start of the SECA sport and activities in Week 3, Thursday 5 May.

Congratulations to...

Darcy Pearson and Hayden Burrows who were both selected into the Under 12 Boys South Coast Regional AFL team to contest the upcoming State Championships in June. We wish both Darcy and Hayden the best of the luck!
Tiarnagh Sweeney (Year 11) who competed in the Australian National Taekwondo Championships. Tiarnagh fought in the -46kg division and won the national title. The championships were held on Friday, 1^st April in the Nissan Arena, Brisbane. Well done!

If our students have achieved exceptional things in the Sporting arena, please send them through so we can recognise and celebrate these achievements.